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J. FOUNT MARTIN 



Two In One: 



The Story of two blended lives 
exemplifying and illustrating the 
meaning and final perfected state 
of human existence. 



BY 

J. FOUNT MARTIN 



Dedicated to all who love Truth more than Creeds. 



1907 

FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE 

Fresno, California 



^ ^ 



J LJohARY of CONGRESS [ 
"iwc Codes Received 

OCT 4 '90f 

ConvneM Entry 

CLASt A XXC, No. 

COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

J. Fount Martin. 



FOREWORD. 



In the year 1891, I made the acquaintance of 
the authors of this work. Being for some months 
guests at the same hotel, our acquaintance ripened 
into a very warm friendship. At this time, their 
faces were seamed with marks of age and care, 
but were lighted up with a radiance of peace and 
joy which rumor attributed to their recent nup- 
tials. They were quite reticent in regard to their 
past lives and I learned only that they had known 
each other in early j^outh and that after a half 
century of vicissitudes their life-currents had 
lately merged into one. On sejDaration from them 
they, henceforth, dropped out of my life except as 
enshrined in friendship's memory, until 1906, 
when I received the following brief communica- 
tion : 

Beulah Place. 
Dear Friend and Bro. : 

Have you kept in remembrance a pair of oldish 
people named Morven who, years ago, were so- 
journers with you for a time in an Oakland hotel? 
With us, the intervening time has but served to 
strengthen the bond of friendship then formed. 
We long to meet you again and renew our afore- 



Foreword. 

time face-to-face communings. Can you not make 
us a visit ? At present, we are living retired from 
the world. Our place is accessible, to within a 
few miles, by railway, on the U. P. line of road. 
The nearest station is Colfax. We assume that 
you will come. Write us when, and we will meet 
you with a conveyance. 

Yours in love and truth, 

ROBERT and MARY MORVEX. 

This letter came very opportunely as I was just 
hesitating as to whence I should flit for a brief 
summer outing. So, responding at once, in due 
time I found myself vis-a-vis with my quondam 
friends in their mountain home. 

And here, in their presence, I experienced the 
greatest surprise of my life, caused by the change 
in their appearance. Their identity was very 
manifest in the general lineaments and funda- 
mental features of personal bearing and manner, 
but somehow they seemed not to be the same per- 
sons whom I had formerly known. A wondrous 
change had passed upon them. What it w r as I 
could not define. For one thing, all signs of age 
had vanished and they were the very picture of 
middle age strength and health. But it was not 
this of itself, nor mainly, that made the differ- 
ence. It was not merely that the dial of time had 
been turned backward in their lives, but that their 
entire being had become — what shall I say? — 



Foreword. 

glorified, and that their faces glowed with an 
indescribable, ethereal beauty. "Whatever has 
come over you people?" I exclaimed. "Have you 
found the long sought elixir vitae or the fountain 
of youth?" 

"Whether we have or have not we will leave 
for you to decide after you have read this brief 
narrative of our experiences," replied Mr. Mor- 
ven, handing me a type-written manuscript. "This 
will probably be more satisfactory than anything 
we might say." 

"Now, my Dear Friend," he continued, "Tell 
us of yourself. ' ' 

And so the matter was dismissed and not again 
referred to until I had read, reread and pondered 
these remarkable disclosures. What my conclu- 
sion was or should have been, I leave the reader 
to judge. 

My stay with my friends was somewhat pro- 
longed and I was privileged to read other writings 
of the authors of a most marvellous character of 
which, more, perhaps, hereafter. I suggested the 
publication of their works. They thought favor- 
ably of my suggestion and honored me with the 
request that I should select such portions as in my 
judgment might seem, at present, most fitting, and 
act as their agent in bringing them before the 
public. The result is the present volume. 

J. FOUNT MARTIN. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Foreword 5 

Introduction 9 

Chapters I to IV inclusive. Life Sketch of. Mr 

Morven. — Experiences in 
Truth-seeking. — Natural Sci- 
ence, Spiritualism, Theos- 
oplry, Etc 15 

Chapter V — Life Sketch of Mrs. Morven. — Ex- 
perience in Christian Science 85 

Chapter VI— God 109 

Chapter VII— Creation 123 

Chapter VIII— Evil 137 

Chapter IX— Man.— Psychology 149 

Chapter X — Same continued — Mental Heal- 
ing 171 

Chapter XI — Sex — Spiritual and Natural.. 193 

Chapter XII — Experience in Unseen Realm. .218 

Chapter XIII — Same continued 237 

Chapter XIV — Historical Crisis — Present 

Outlook. — Final Perfected 
State of All Humanity 253 



INTRODUCTION. 



This book was not made, it grew. It is the 
growth of a life time, from seed-thought planted 
in youth — the condensed outcome of a life-long 
effort to get a satisfactory solution of certain es- 
sential problems of existence which from time im- 
memorial, have taxed the world's best thought 
and which every thinking mind must face in 
every serious moment of life. By a satisfactory 
solution is meant such a solution as will harmonize 
with the idea of God as absolute Love, Wisdom 
and Power ; with the teachings of the Scriptures ; 
with reason; with the facts of nature, and the 
conditions of our present existence. 

These questions will not down. In vain, we 
strive to stifle them by endeavoring to confine 
our thought within the limits of this short span 
of life and in the pursuit of mere time and sense 
interests. In vain, we seek to base ethics or 
religion upon foundations other than that of a 
satisfactory explanation of the conditions and out- 
come of existence — an explanation logically con- 
sistent with absolute perfection in Deity and an 
assured faith in immortality. 

We look up at the starry heavens, and every 
twinkling orb challenges our questioning as to the 



10 Introduction 

illimitable power and intelligence that brought 
them into being and guides them in their courses. 

A friend or loved one drops out of view, by 
what we term death, and our yearning hearts go 
out in longing to penetrate the secrets of the silent 
land. 

A terrible catastrophe of nature such as the 
San Francisco earthquake comes overwhelming in 
disaster multitudes indiscriminately, and we stand 
aghast, wondering as to how such things can be 
in a universe under the control of an infinite and 
beneficent power. The scientist tells us that they 
happen in accordance with a law of nature. Cer- 
tainly, but this is no answer to our questioning. 
Our inquiry relates to the motive of Him who put 
in operation these second causes called laws and 
forces of nature, and under whose guidance we 
have results seemingly so inconsistent with those 
attributes which we must hold as constituting the 
character of the Almighty. 

The Intelligence and Power that created the 
worlds and ordained the law of all cosmic forces 
also created man and placed him here subject to 
their disastrous activities. Assuming a Principle 
of Infinite Good of which the universe is the ex- 
pression, how shall we account for the evil and 
suffering in its domain? How account for the 
fact that we are ushered into a world environed 
by the ' ' pestilence that walketh in darkness ' ' and 



Introduction 11 

the "destruction that wasteth at noonday"? We 
naturally ask: Can there be a heart of love at 
the center of all things ? Can the evil conditions 
and consequent suffering in which our lives are 
set have a beneficent purpose? Are evil and suf- 
fering a necessary concomitant of existence? 
Whence, and what are we? and what is the object 
and final outcome of this present state of exist- 
ence? Is birth the beginning of man's being and 
does death end all ? If there is a life beyond, what 
is its nature and what our present relation to it ? 

The highest point attainable here is the awak- 
ening of unrealized and unrealizable aspirations 
for an ideal manhood of goodness, truth and power 
such as was exemplified in the Christ. Is there 
a sphere beyond where these longings shall receive 
their satisfaction? If not, then what better is 
existence than a hideous dream — a frightful abor- 
tion? Is the race, moved by an all-impelling 
force, evolving toward a definite, predetermined 
and assured end, or is human destiny, in whole 
or in part, dependent on human weakness and 
caprice ? 

If our historic unfoldment has had reference to 
a fixed, ultimate destiny, what has been the pro- 
cess of unfoldment, at what point have we arrived 
and what is the present outlook ? 

These and cognate questions are pressing for 
solution. They are the sphinx's riddle of this 



12 Introduction 

age. The present mental status is such that not 
to solve them means decadence of religious faith 
if not its death. 

Can we hope for a satisfactory answer to such 
questioning? Have we the data from which we 
can arrive at conclusions in harmony with reason ? 
— conclusions so relating present conditions to the 
final outcome as to perfectly satisfy both head 
and heart? 

Assuredly a solution of these problems is within 
our reach. Existence is not a mockery. The 
religious instinct or principle, that which chiefly 
constitutes man a human being as differentiated 
from the brute — that welling up from within and 
seeking expression of an innate consciousness of 
a Divine indwelling — that instinctive faith in and 
looking forward to a life beyond this brief span, 
is not a deception. "As the hart panteth after 
the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, 
God. When shall I come and appear before 
God?" is a cry from the depths of the heart of 
humanity that will be heard. 

According to a fixed law of nature, the very 
fact that this demand for enlightenment on these 
subjects is inherent and insistent in man is a 
guarantee that the light will come. But really 
the light has come. It has ever been here shin- 
ing out from nature's revelations and through the 
utterances of seers and prophets whom our Heav- 



Introduction 13 

enly Father has raised up, in all ages, to voice 
the truth for the needs of his children. As says 
the Apostle, the invisible things of God have ever 
been manifest for man's reading in the visible 
things of creation. And above all and inclusive 
of all, we have a written revelation which when 
properly understood meets all the needs of heart 
and mind. It is contained in the Divine Word 
of which Jesus Christ is the fullness and embodi- 
ment. 

We are just now passing from an era in which 
all religious faith was based on authority; when 
all points pertaining to religion were settled by 
ecclesiastical dicta which the masses dared not 
question and which, in fact, but few thought of 
questioning. They rested content with what 
those whom they accepted as authorized teachers 
gave them as truth. But the time is dawning 
when authority will no longer be the bar of judg- 
ment, when only that will be accepted as true 
which carries with it its own credentials by its 
consistency with all other known truth and by 
the light outshining from its own rationality. For 
one thing and chiefly, no blot on the sun of the 
Divine perfections will, in thought, be entertained. 
God will be held as the All-in-all in reality, as 
creating only to bless and as inevitably accom- 
plishing his beneficent purpose. And hence all 
human experiences whether of this world or the 



14 Introduction 

world to come will be seen to have reference to 
and to be working out the infinite design of good 
to all. Any theory, conclusion, or system of doc- 
trine, whether the deduction of philosophy or of 
science, or the interpretation of a written revela- 
tion, which contravenes this axiom of intuitional 
reason will, ipso facto, stamp itself as false. Such 
is the standard by which this book asks to be 
judged. 

It would be the extreme of presumption to as- 
sume that a work embracing so large a scope of 
thought should in all its details or in the manner 
of treatment of its various subjects be satisfac- 
tory to all readers. But the high encomiums of 
those who have read the manuscript and who are 
eminently qualified to judge of its merits, justify 
the hope that it may be helpful in giving mental 
anchorage and rest to a large and increasing class 
of thinking minds, more or less unsettled in this 
transitional era. 



Two In One. 



CHAPTER I. 



c t 



There's a divinity which shapes our ends, 
rough-hew them how we may," writes the im- 
mortal bard of Avon. My life appears to have 
been an exemplification of the truth of this state- 
ment. I seem to have been originally, by both 
heredity and environment, placed in a current and 
borne along on its tide, the course of which I have 
had little to do in directing. 

My father having died in my infancy I was left 
to the care of my mother. She was of Scotch 
parentage and came of a line of preachers of the 
extremest Scottish puritanism; while my father, 
as I learned from my mother, though reverent of 
Deity, was of a scientific and rationalistic type 
of mind and so was doctrinally out of harmony 
with the dogmatic teachings of my mother's 
church. In myself, the elements were a blending 
of my parents combined with a strain derived 
from a remoter ancestry. I inherited both the 
religious nature of my mother and the mental 
characteristics of my father ; but unlike either of 



16 Two In One 

them was very excitable, painfully self-conscious, 
egotistic and emotionally intense, on slight provo- 
cation quivering with agony or thrilling with 
ecstacy. 

I early developed a love of reading, but had 
access to little literature other than the religious 
works of puritanism and the Bible. The former 
was little to my taste, but the latter I read 
through and through with great delight, even as 
a child; and to this early acquaintance with the 
Scriptures I owe the trend of my entire life. 

The death of my father threw upon my shoul- 
ders burdens fitted to be borne only by mature 
years, and thus induced a premature development. 
Thoughts, fancies, dreams and aspirations abnor- 
mal to childhood thronged my brain. The mys- 
teries of life fascinated me. Often in the midst 
of active engagements would I suddenly stop, 
startled by questions which the wisest philoso- 
phers have vainly essayed to answer, such as, 
"Who and what am I?"— "What is Man?"— 
"Who and what is God?" — "Whence are we, and 
whither do we go?" Such problems, of course 
in a dim and nebulous form, pressed upon me and 
demanded an answer. It was my delight to 
wander over the fields and woods, alone with na- 
ture, listening to the soft soughing of the wind 
through the forest, to the chattering of squirrels 
and to the song of birds; and lying down on the 



Two In One 17 

soft green grass or looking out of my window, it 
was my custom to gaze into the heavens — by day, 
at the shifting panorama of sun-lit clouds and by 
night, at the star-bespangled sky and the serene 
shining of the moon — my heart swelling with 
emotions which I could neither understand nor 
utter. At such times it was as if I were one with 
the infinite life in which I was immersed. 

I had but few playmates, and none in sympathy 
with me. Thus I came to shrink from expressing 
my thoughts and feelings, and lapsed into a con- 
dition of morbid loneliness. The awakened sense 
of sex-relations which came in the course of my 
development toward manhood intensified this un- 
wholesome feeling. I was taught by my religious 
teachers that men and women after this life be- 
come sexless, and that all relations growing out 
of sex cease with the laying down of the body. 
My deeper and higher nature revolted against this 
doctrine. I felt then, what I now know, that the 
individual of either sex is but one half of the 
complete man, and that the union as one with the 
other half is essential to perfectness. My lone- 
liness took on the form of a vague, agonizing 
longing for that other one, somewhere existent, 
who would be to me as my other self, entering into 
and filling out my present partial being. 

To my dear mother alone did I ever attempt to 
confide my thoughts. She, with the fullness of 



18 Two In One 

a mother's love, endeavored to sympathize with 
me, and as best she could to advise and comfort 
me. But she did not understand my mental state 
and was alarmed to think whither my strange 
fancies might tend. She therefore discouraged 
their indulgence. But this course only threw me 
back more intensely upon myself. 

My mother's religious training, her views of 
God and of man's relation to Him, tended to dis- 
qualify her as guide out of the labyrinth in which 
I was wandering. 

My grandfather's conception of God (which, of 
course, determined his entire system of doctrine), 
may be summed up in the following language of 
Jonathan Edwards: ''Now (in this life alone), 
God stands ready to pardon you ; this is a day of 
mercy. But when the day of mercy is past (at 
death), your most lamentable and dolorous cries 
and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly 
lost and thrown away of God as to any regard for 
your welfare. God will have no other use to 
put you to but to suffer misery. You will be 
continued in being to no other end." 

My poor mother had been taught and had un- 
reservedly accepted this as a true characteriza- 
tion of God, and upon her tender spirit its influ- 
ence was deadly. It was not that she did not 
realize the Heavenly Father's love as manifested 
in the Christ. For herself, she could and did 



Two In One 19 

take refuge in the Savior. But alas ! for the mass 
of mankind, her husband included, who, for any 
reason, failed to comply with the conditions of the 
gospel and thus, as she believed, remained ex- 
posed to the wrath of Divine Justice. Her life 
was so vitally at one with that of her husband 
that she could conceive of no happiness or well 
being but in sharing his destiny. 

She became possessed of the horror of the fu- 
ture thus generated in her mind, her natural joy- 
ousness being replaced by a deep-seated melan- 
choly which undermined her physical health. She, 
for my sake, bore up bravely, but at last passed 
out of my sight a victim to a false conception of 
God and of man's essential relations to him. She 
sought relief for her burdened heart in writing. 
There lies before me quite a volume of her manu- 
script, from which as illustrating her character 
and suffering spirit, I quote the following verses : 

"The earth below, the heavens above, 

Declare, 'tis said, that God is love, 

And that the end of nature's plan 

Stands forth revealed complete in man, 

In faculties designed to be 

An image of Divinity. 

He woke to life in Eden fair — 

To dress and keep it was his care. 

Then God as gift to crown his life 

Gave him, for helpmeet, Eve, his wife. 

Spontaneous fruits, both sweet and good 

Abounded for his daily food; 

But in the midst there stood a tree 

To eat of which this penalty: — 

'The day thou eatest, thou shalt die, 



20 Two In One 

Thou and all thy progeny.' 

Man lusting for this fruit denied 

Reached forth and plucked and ate and died. 

So thus upon his ruined race 

Came sorrow, pain and death apace. 

Such is the explanation given 

Of all our miseries under heaven. 

Henceforth a horrid demon spell 

Holds man and drags him down to hell, 

Save here and there an elect one, 

Redeemed by Christ, God's only Son, 

Who doth himself to death resign, 

Thus shielding such from wrath Divine. 

But these alone — The rest passed by 

Are doomed the eternal death to die. 

Today, our loved ones we embrace — 

Tomorrow, banished from God's face, 

In horrors evermore they dwell 

Beyond the power of tongue to tell. 

Such the 'tidings glad' we're told 

Proclaimed on Bethlehem's plains of old — 

'Good will and peace,' the angels sing, 

In joyful notes their voices ring. 

Alas, to me these tidings fall 

On unresponsive ears. A pall 

Shrouds heaven and earth in deepest gloom 

Where joy and gladness have no room." etc. 

Amongst my mother's papers was found the 
following bequest : 

1 ' I leave my entire estate to my son, Robert M. 
Morven, and I hereby request that Mr. Henry 
Vincent shall act as his guardian during his mi- 
nority. 

(Signed) "MIRIAM MORVEN." 

My guardian was a merchant and lived in a 
distant town. His family consisted of three per- 



Two In One 21 

sons besides himself, Mrs. Vincent, their daughter 
Mary, and a younger child, Jamie. In religion, 
they were disciples of John Wesley, and were 
ardent devotees of their church. Thus the 
daughter was reared in an atmosphere redolent 
with ecclesiastical pietism. Life, to her, was cir- 
cumscribed by Church relations and Church 
duties. In her mind, the two great command- 
ments were, "Thou shalt seek religion by attend- 
ing faithfully upon all the means of grace," and 
"Thou shalt abstain from dancing and all other 
forms of worldly amusement." 

The immediate end to be attained by these 
efforts was conversion — that is, the passing 
through a well-defined religious experience, con- 
sisting first of deep contrition for sin ; and second, 
the sense of pardon, and a joy corresponding. The 
more intense these emotions, the deeper and more 
satisfactory "the work of grace." Thencefor- 
ward, the object sought by the continued use of 
the "means of grace," viz., attendance on preach- 
ing, prayer meetings, communion, love feasts, 
class-meetings, together with private prayer and 
reading of the Bible, was "growth in grace," ad- 
vancing eventually to perfectness. This perfect- 
ness was inaugurated by another mental cataclysm 
similar to conversion, known as the "Baptism of 
the Holy Ghost," or "the Second Blessing." 
Loud singing and praying and shouting were 



22 Two In One 

greatly in favor as a means of attaining these 
emotional states. 

After my mother's death, I became a member 
of Mr. Vincent's household. Having been ac- 
customed to the extreme quietness and awe per- 
vading a puritanical religious meeting, I found 
it at first somewhat difficult to adapt myself to 
my new surroundings. 

Mary and I were about the same age, she being 
sixteen, and I, eighteen; and though very different 
in our physical and mental characteristics, we 
soon became devoted friends — indeed, we came 
to love each other dearly, and were confidants 
even beyond what usually maintains between 
brother and sister. 

She was a girl of unusual mental ability and 
native strength of character. She was harmonious 
in her physical and mental makeup, in no way 
being marked by any striking peculiarities or 
characteristics. In height, she was about average 
with blue eyes, fair skin and light hair. She was 
vivacious and free from self-consciousness ; candid 
and conscientious ; confiding and self-sacrificing, 
pious, gentle and loving 

To the regret of herself and her parents, she 
could not as yet point to any marked emotional 
religious experience such as was esteemed so 
essential by her people. Hence I soon found that 
the paramount concern of her parents, and, as far 



Two In One 23 

as her overflowing animal spirits would allow, of 
herself, was her "conversion." 

I had from childhood felt that my life's voca- 
tion was to be that of a minister of the Gospel. 
But whilst by both heredity and education the 
whole trend of my being was toward a religious 
life, it had never become outwardly manifest in 
action or profession. In my present status and 
relation to the church, therefore, I was not pre- 
pared to take any step looking toward my con- 
templated work of preaching; but I could not 
bring my mind to consent to engage in any other 
avocation. I confided my perplexity to Mary, 
and she in surprise cried, "Why, Robert, the 
trouble with you is that you havn't been con- 
verted," and from that moment she apparently 
forgot her own unconverted state in her deep 
solicitude for me. She not only herself prayed 
for me, but enlisted the interest of her parents 
and friends in my behalf, to such extent that it 
became somewhat annoying. 

Near the time when I was to enter college there 
was a wave of religious excitement passing over 
the country and I learned, with no thought of any 
personal interest, that a celebrated revivalist was 
soon to commence a series of meetings in our 
town. He came, and by his incisive, magnetic 
oratory electrified the entire community. Business 
was suspended for the time, and nothing was 



24 Two In One 

thought of or talked of but religion. From curi- 
osity, I attended, but took no interest in the 
proceedings. Multitudes, at the call of the min- 
ister, from day to day, rushed forward to be 
prayed for as if panic-stricken; but I felt no 
inclination to follow their example. Many were 
''converted" daily, but the noisy exercises — the 
shouts of rejoicing of the converts, mingled with 
the groans of the penitents and the vociferous ex- 
hortations of the speaker, only confused me. 

Mary had been among the early converts. 
Knowing her interest in me and not wishing to 
wound her feelings by my coldness, I avoided any 
communication with her. But at length her sur- 
charged heart impelling her to throw off all con- 
ventional reserve, she pushed her way to my side, 
in the outskirts of the crowd. With her soul in 
her face and an expression of unutterable longing 
in every action and feature, she lifted upon me 
her tear-suffused eyes, and said only this : ' ' Rob- 
ert, won't you come?" How shall I describe my 
feelings at that moment? I was as one pierced 
with an arrow, and a horror of darkness fell upon 
me. As the Psalmist hath it, "The sorrows of 
hell gat hold of me." I know not how I got 
to the place of prayer nor how long I remained 
there. The first I remember was the gentle 
touch of Mary's hand upon my head, and the 
sound of her earnest, entreating voice, "Lord, 



Two In One 25 

save Robert or I cannot live." In a moment it 
was as if the heavens had been cleft, whence 
supernal light descended upon me, whilst wave 
after wave of ineffable peace and joy rolled over 
me. I was a new man in a new world. My 
first thought was, ' ' Now my way is clear to preach 
the Gospel." 

There was one peculiarity of my experience at 
this time at which I was surprised and perplexed. 
It was that all my new-found joy seemed in some 
inexplicable way to be connected with Mary. At 
the very center of my internal self in God was 
enthroned the sense of a feminine presence, and 
all my new life seemed to flow from that center. 
With all my religious emotions a sense of oneness 
with this feminine presence was inextricably in- 
tertwined. The thought of God always brought 
before me the thought of — Mary. 

It may be said, "The solution of that problem 
is easy. You were unconsciously in love with the 
girl. ' ' But no, I did not love Mary in the sense 
in which that term is ordinarily used. With 
the subsidence of my intense religious emotions 
and the reasserting of the external self, the sense 
of her pervading presence passed away, and all 
attraction for her different in quality from that 
towards other women ceased. 



26 Two In One 

The explanation of this experience (I felt then 
and I now know) is not to be found in any outer 
sense attraction but in a real conscious union of 
spirit with spirit in God. 



CHAPTER II. 

The next few years we pass over briefly. My 
time was spent over my college and theological 
studies. The prescribed course in the classics 
and in mathematics was duly completed, together 
with the small modicum of natural science then 
deemed requisite in order to graduation. 

Follodwin this, a cut-and-dried theological 
pabulum prepared for aspirants to the ministry 
being bolted down undigested and unassimilated, 
I was authorized by my ecclesiastical teachers to 
preach the Gospel. 

The next thing in order was to secure a church 
location. And just here a practical discrepancy 
arose between the theological theory of my teach- 
ers and the actual facts. The teaching had been 
that we students should stand ready to go 
wherever God might call us by pointing out a 
need that we could supply; and, looking to Him 
to provide for all our wants, we should not in the 
least be governed by earthly reward in settling 
upon the place for our labors. But I found that 
the young ecclesiastics took this teaching in a 
modified sense, and as a matter of fact were as 
full of schemes in hunting good places as poli- 
ticians are in seeking office. 



28 Two In One 

I fortunately commanded some influence in 
high places, and consequently soon found myself 
duly installed pastor of a wealthy, fashionable 
city congregation, and so entered upon my work 
with bright prospects. I labored to please, as I 
then persuaded myself, for the good of others, but 
as I now know really for the gaining of man's ap- 
plause. My natural egotism was inflamed by my 
success, and thus the world gradually threw a 
glamour over my spiritual vision. I rapidly de- 
generated from the position to which I had 
aspired, of being a fearless and independent 
preacher of righteousness, to that of being merely 
the mouthpiece of a selfish, worldly ecclesiasticism 
veneered over by a thin coating of sanctity. Stand- 
ing at the center of the thought-sphere of a band 
of religious worldlings, I as their psychological 
subject became merely an echo of the thought with 
which they inspired me. 

Under the hot-house stimulus of constant and 
fulsome flattery, especially by the women of my 
congregation, it was only natural that my hered- 
itary pride should have taken on a rank growth ; 
that the odor of priestly dignity and sanctity 
should have invested me, and that I should have 
blossomed out a full-fledged Pharisee. 

Surrounded by flattery and scheming women, 
the question of marriage was pressed upon me for 
settlement. The time seemed to have arrived 



Two In One 29 

when, if ever, I should enter upon that relation. 
There was no lack of eligible young ladies of my 
acquaintance from whom to choose, and my self- 
conceit persuaded me that I had only to make my 
selection. 

But I had exalted ideas as to the qualities of 
the lady who should bear the honored title, Mrs. 
Morven. Little less than perfection would be at 
all satisfactory. One after another of my lady 
friends was weighed in my critical mental scales 
and found wanting. So persistently did I turn 
aside, avoiding the feminine nets spread in my 
way, that I came to be voted a confirmed bachelor. 

But my time came — and unexpectedly. At an 
evening party given by Mrs. Van Tromp, a promi- 
nent society lady of my congregation, I was intro- 
duced to a niece of hers, visiting at the house. 
This sealed my fate. I had met my ideal. Eather 
petite in person ; of sylph-like form ; large, brown 
liquid eyes which to me seemed the windows of 
an angelic spirit; dark, wavy hair; a complexion 
almost transparent; a laughing, genial nature — 
these with other features of attraction of Lillian 
Douglas, captivated me. From the moment I 
first saw her, I made a complete surrender. It 
seemed to my enamored vision that my feminine 
self stood before me. I was not long in reveal- 
ing my state of mind to her, and was rejoiced to 
find that my tender sentiments were reciprocated. 



30 Two In One 

» 

I need not dwell here upon my infatuation. 
Any case of sensuous, amatory love as described 
in a conventional novel will answer the purpose. 
The cases are all alike in this, that life with the 
adored one is present and everlasting bliss, while 
the thought of separation is unendurable. 

It never even occurred to me to inquire whether 
Miss Douglas possessed the qualities which I had 
set up as essential in my wife. Well, in brief, 
we were married, and I found her, as doubtless 
she found me, quite different from the picture 
which fancy had painted. I was religiously 
serious in my nature, and my work was to me of 
infinite moment; whilst my wife was almost de- 
void of religious sentiment, lived only for and in 
the present moment, and consequently could have 
no interest in nor sympathy with my labors as a 
preacher. But she was kind, gentle and loving 
to all, while I, with all my spiritual aspirations, 
was severe, often harsh and uncharitable in my 
criticisms. She had no appreciation of my spirit- 
ual aspirations and other-worldliness ; I had little 
patience with her lack of what I termed spiritual 
thought and her general present-worldliness. I 
was somewhat of a student, and inclined to liter- 
ary pursuits; she had little literary culture, and 
was contracted in her thought and reading. 

I having set up for her a religious and literary 
standard to which she could not attain, fretted 



Two In One 31 

myself and grieved her because of her failure. 
This course only served to anger and alienate my 
wife and thus reacted upon myself. Our "love 
at first sight" proved to have been only a super- 
ficial glow of — what shall I call it? — animal mag- 
netism? An equilibrium between us being estab- 
lished, we became to each other exceedingly un- 
interesting and commonplace. Each saw in the 
other only faults. Our daily and hourly frictions 
foreboded a serious break. But fortunately we 
at length tacitly concluded to accept the situation 
and make the best of it, taking each the other 
for what we were instead of what we would wish, 
and expecting only what we were prepared to 
give — each allowing the other perfect freedom to 
act out his life without interference by the other. 
Thus neither endeavoring to assume any respon- 
sibility for the other's actions, and allowing per- 
fect liberty, we came to walk along life's journey 
side by side as a pair of separate personalities, 
rather than as ' ' one from two, ' ' such as had been 
my dream. As I look back over my state of 
mind at that time, my impression is that while I 
wished to bring myself and wife into oneness, I 
was proposing to be that one. 

The birth of a daughter for a time wrought a 
change in our relations. As I gazed on the little 
creature, "fresh from the hand of God," resting 
upon the bosom of its mother, through whose 



■ 



i 



32 Two In One 

pangs it had been ushered into life, the fountain 
of parental love was opened in my soul and I em- 
braced in my inmost heart the mother and "our 
child. ' ' The tender, wistful, longing look of my 
poor, suffering wife smote me with compunction 
for the harshness of judgment with which I had 
treated her limitations and short-comings, and 
borne down under a complex burden of emotions, 
I knelt at her bedside and wept like a child. In 
her weakness, she reached out her hand and laid 
it on my head, gently stroking my forehead. At 
that moment we came nearer together than ever 
before. 

The question of the naming of our baby was 
the source of some kindly controversy. I wished 
it to bear the name of its mother, Lillian ; but she 
contended for Roberta, the feminine of my own 
name. We at last compromised by naming it 
Lillian Roberta, which probably was most appro- 
priate, seeing that it proved to be mentally and 
physically a commingling of the qualities of 
father and mother. 

Here again we pass briefly over a few years. 
I continued with the same church, and found time 
to write a work which was so orthodox that I 
was in high favor with my denomination as a 
champion of its faith. 'This work was the logical 
embodiment of our church theology, and was so 
well received bv our sect that I was at once 



Two In One 33 

honored with the title of D. D., and invited to the 
position of didactic theology in our leading semi- 
nary of learning. My vanity was gratified and 
I was disposed to accept the position offered me. 
But pending my answer I was taken sick of 
typhoid fever, and lay for weeks hovering be- 
tween life and death. In fact, at the crisis of 
my disease my conscious life passed from the nat- 
ural to the spirit world. As I afterwards 
learned, my body to all appearances was for two 
days lifeless, except that it retained a slight de- 
gree of warmth and did not become rigid. During 
this time I was consciously existent as a spirit. 

I seemed to be gradually drawn out of the body, 
and presently found myself at a distance looking 
with curious unconcern at the outer form of my- 
self, surrounded by my weeping wife and friends. 

Turning, I saw standing at my side a radiant 
being, who smilingly beckoned me to follow him. 
I did so, experiencing a delightful sense of free- 
dom, strength and exhilaration, and I exulted in 
the thought that now the sorrows, pains and trials 
of earth were over, and I was about to enter into 
eternal peace and rest. 

Passing through a sandy plain, dotted here and 
there with scrubby trees, cacti, and tufts of 
wiry grass, we came to a lofty temple, to which 
from all sides men gowned as scholars, with rolls 
of manuscript under their arms, were hastening. 



uv 



34 Two In One 

Having assembled, a dignified looking person- 
age rose and explained the object of their meeting. 
They were called he said to discuss and conclude 
certain important theological questions which 
upon his statement I learned to be those treated 
in my book. 

After a prayer for the guidance of the Spirit 
the various points of that work were taken up 
seriatim and discussed, and a statement was 
made of my church doctrines as set forth therein, 
a vote was taken affirming them and an anathema 
pronounced against all who failed to accept them 
as truth. This was followed by a prayer of 
thanksgiving for the wisdom imparted and a 
laudation of the author by the president of the 
assembly. At this point, there appeared two 
persons at the door of entrance — a man and a 
woman. That is to say, they seemed to be two 
and yet one — two personal forms and one com- 
mon life. 

All eyes were turned upon them as they slowly 
approached the speaker's stand. Bowing to the 
audience, the gentleman addressed them, saying, 
"Peace to you. I bring you tidings of great joy. 
God is Love. Christ, the Saviour, was Love 's gift 
to man." And so far as I remember, his dis- 
course continued in the same general line of 
thought. And what shall I say of his voice? It 
was love set to music. There is nothing in all 



Two In One 35 

nature or in the experience of the natural man 
that can be compared to it, or that would give 
an idea of its sweetness and power. What 
effect it had upon the rest of the audience I can- 
not say, for my entire being was so absorbed in 
attention that I became oblivious to my sur- 
roundings and to everything but the speaker and 
his companion. As he spoke, she turned her face 
toward him and their personalities seemed to 
blend into one. It was as if the very essence 
of love were impersonated in her and of truth 
in him and that the two were one, she the love soul 
and he the body manifestation. 

It was not what they said in itself that so 
affected me. I was familiar, of course, with the 
teachings of the Scriptures that God is Love, so 
that their language was the setting forth of noth- 
ing new to me. But I now, for the first time, 
got even a glimpse of its full meaning. They 
seemed to radiate love. My entire being was 
flooded with light and every fiber thrilled with 
love ineffable. All creation appeared to me as a 
hymn of love singing, "Love is life, love is peace, 
love is joy, love is salvation, God is Love, to know 
God is to know love, to love is eternal life." 

The fiction of a legal relation of man to God 
and of Christ's suffering as a substitute for man, 
as a propitiation for man's sins or as a satisfac- 
tion of justice, which formed the basic premises 



36 Two In One 

of my book disappeared as a dream. I saw that 
I had read the law into the gospel and had been 
taking the shadow for the substance. 

How long I thus sat and drank in the Spirit of 
truth and love as it flowed to me from those 
angelic messengers (for angelic I must believe 
them to have been) I do not know. The vision 
passed, if vision it was, and I found myself stand- 
ing on a barren plain. Suddenly a shadowy form 
of a woman, whose features I could not discern, 
appeared before me and in a gentle voice said: 
"You do not belong here. You have yet work 
to do whence you came. You will return to 
the outer world." A cold wind arose seeming 
to bring with it a dense cloud, pitch darkness 
overspread the heavens, and I became uncon- 
scious. 

The next I knew I was in the body, as one 
awakened from sleep. I do not pretend to ex- 
plain my experience. But whatever the explana- 
tion, it made a lasting impression upon me. 

Partially recovering my health, I continued 
preaching, but for the first time in my ministerial 
life I began to be unsettled in my theology. 
"Salvation, the effect of character formed by 
obedience to truth, ' ' — words which I remem- 
bered of the discourse heard in my trance-state, 
haunted me. After a period of mental struggle, 
I resigned my pastorate; but my congregation 



Two In One 37 

voted me instead a few months' vacation for rest 
and recuperation. 

I decided to spend it at a summer resort in the 
mountains of Virginia. It was there my good 
fortune to meet Professor N., of Urbana Univer- 
sity, an author of some celebrity, who was so- 
journing for a time amid the scenes of nature r 
with the same quest in view as myself. We 
were thus intimately associated. He was a man 
of the most gentle and Christ-like spirit that it 
has ever been my good fortune to know. His 
very presence was a benediction. His character 
was a revelation to me. Spiritual truth was our 
constant theme, and for the first time in my ex- 
perience I found my logical methods of little avail. 
He seemed to be on the inside of the temple, look- 
ing and speaking from a direct view of its hidden 
treasures ; whilst I stood on the outside and could 
merely discuss the architecture of the building. 
He dwelt at the heart of things, while I could 
penetrate no deeper than the cuticle. He seemed 
to possess a spiritual philosophical key that fitted 
every lock. 

In the course of our talks he unlocked door 
after door over which, by my theology, had been 
inscribed "Mystery." His fundamental princi- 
ple was that all phenomena — all things of the 
sense-world — are but forms manifesting spiritual 
entities to which they correspond as effect to 



38 Two In One 

cause. He held that the Bible has an external 
sense and an internal; the former being but the 
husk inclosing the latter as the kernel — the real 
revelation; and that all its scientific facts, 
biographical and historical narratives, as well as 
psalms, prophecies and parables, are external cor- 
respondences of spiritual truths, having no sig- 
nificance as a revelation except in relation thereto. 
His interpretation of the first chapter of Genesis 
affords an illustration. I had thought of the 
account of creation there given as a purely scien- 
tific cosmogony, and from that standpoint had 
written elaborate articles in church magazines, to 
repel the attacks then being made upon the Gen- 
esis account by the new science of Geology. To 
my surprise, Professor N., simply applying his 
philosophic key, afforded me an inside glimpse of 
the spiritual meaning of these records, revealing 
a connected, consistent acount of man's evolution 
both as a race and as an individual, thus opening 
up before me a realm of thought such as I had 
never before imagined. I was almost dazed with 
the new light. It was clear that if he were 
right, then both the scientists and the theologians 
were beating the air, or setting up and knocking 
down men of straw. And that much of it was 
true I knew, just as a thirsty man knows water 
by drinking it. Strange to say, I for the first 



Two In One 39 

time got the idea of accepting for truth that only 
which shows itself to be be true in the light of 
its own rationality, or as spiritually discerned. I 
saw dimly what was meant by Christ's speaking 
not as the Pharisees, but as one having authority. 
Thus I began to take my first step upward from 
natural toward spiritual thought. The time 
came all too soon for me to part with my friend, 
and as he took my hand on departure, he handed 
me a work of his entitled "The Inner Christian 
Life," asking me to read it and write him my 
thoughts. I promised to do so, and could do no 
otherwise than reciprocate by offering to send him 
a copy of my own work, and soliciting his criti- 
cism, although my late mental changes had so 
lowered my opinion of my intellectual offspring 
that I would fain have kept it out of his sight. 

I returned to my charge in anything but an 
enviable state of mind. The very foundations 
of my mental house were sinking, and its walls 
crumbling ; and the reading of Professor N. 's book 
only tended to hasten the impending crash. The 
range of thought was a distinct degree within 
and above that I had hitherto known. In its 
thought, time and space were eliminated. My 
mind was so deeply immersed in external, ma- 
terialistic methods that it was with the greatest 
difficulty I could follow him. But through Pro- 
fessor N. and his writings began with me an 



40 Two In One 

earnest effort to think above time and space, 
which was continued with increasing success to 
the present. For a time, the process was one 
of intellectual crucifixion. The tearing down 
and destruction of the old forms of thought was 
one akin to slow and painful death. 

Some time after my return, I wrote to Prof. N. 
as follows: 

My Dear Friend: — 

I have, at your suggestion, been giving my chief 
attention to Natural Science — studying the Crea- 
tor as revealed in his works of creation. That 
is to say, I have been gathering up the results of 
scientific investigators and from them as premises 
deducing conclusions. I don't know whether I 
am more surprised at my own hitherto low degree 
of appreciation of God's revelation of himself in 
nature or at the failure of scientists to accept the 
conclusions to which their scientific data lead. For 
example, how evolutionists can fail to see that 
whatever is evolved in anything must have been 
previously involved, I cannot understand. 

Life and intelligence can proceed only from life 
and intelligence whatever be the method of pro- 
ceedure, whether by an ages-long process or 
otherwise. In brief, that back of all creation's 
phenomena, how a thinking being should fail to 



Two In One 41 

see an intelligent will so and so expressing itself is 
a problem. * * * 

The following is an extract from Prof. N.'s re- 
sponse: * * * I am glad to learn the outcome 
of your scientific studies. God has given us two 
revelations. One of these in his written Word, 
which is the picturing of the developing con- 
sciousness of God in man culminating in, and ex- 
emplified by Jesus Christ, his full-orbed manifes- 
tation, the Word made flesh ; the other is the por- 
trayal of the Divine attributes in nature or the 
external phenomenal universe. 

The book of nature has heretofore been com- 
paratively a sealed volume, but is now, through 
science, being opened. In many ways its teach- 
ings oppose our traditional views of God, of man 
and of God's relations, both to man and nature. 
The theological problem of the time is the recon- 
ciliation of these two seemingly conflicting reve- 
lations. When, in the process of race unfold- 
ment, the realm of invisible substance and force 
shall be under standingly correlated to the realm 
of outward symbolic appearances in nature thus 
religion becoming scientific and science religious, 
then " books will be read in brooks, sermons in 
stones and God in everything. ' ' 

Perhaps a leaf from the book of my own ex- 



42 Two In One 

perience would, in this connection, be of interest 
to you. 

As you know, I came to the Christ and Chris- 
tianity from the scientific side and groped my 
way through and from the darkness of material- 
ism. By long and persistent study of nature's 
phenomena as explainable by natural laws, I 
came to conclude that the materialistic theory of 
evolution is true and that all nature, even in its 
origins, is the result of resident forces, and thus 
sufficient in itself not only for sustentation but 
for creation. The idea of anything like a per- 
sonal Creator was, by my scientific thought, set 
aside as an impertinence. 

Fixing my vision on the phenomenal aspect of 
things only and taking the evidence of the physi- 
cal senses to be substantial reality, I steered my 
mental bark toward the desolate shores of blank 
atheism. But, ere long, in this sterile region, 
my soul became famished. The sensual food 
which alone it afforded me was unsatisfying. I 
was perishing with hunger. In this extreme 
state of destitution, I became conscious within 
and beyond the clamors of sense, of a still small 
voice whispering of Father and home, bidding me 
rise and return. The most direct path of re- 
turn of course would have been by way of the 
affections — the throwing myself at the feet of 
Infinite Love and crying " Father, I have sinned.' ' 



Two In One 43 

But for this I was not yet prepared. The only- 
way that seemed open to me was that of philoso- 
phy. Taking a hint from the old adage, "Know 
thyself/ ' my philosophic studies now began with 
man — myself as a thinking, loving, willing per- 
sonality. Here apeared a series of effects for 
which materialism afforded no adequate cause. 
For instance, admit with physiologists that in 
every act of thought, emotion or will, there is a 
change in the brain substance both chemical and 
physical, then what? We have no clue as to 
how the brain changes are related to the mental 
changes. All we know is that brain cells ?re 
affected and thought apears. Aladdin's lamp is 
rubbed and the genii stands forth. 

Viewed from the physical side, there is just as 
much of an intelligible and causal relation be- 
tween the two sets of phenomena in the one case 
as in the other. And suppose a human brain 
laid bare to inspection. An observer would see 
only the various molecular changes taking place. 
Nothing of the thoughts or feelings of the sub- 
ject himself would appear. But a thinking per- 
sonality whose throbbing brain was under inspec- 
tion would be conscious only of his thoughts and 
feelings. On the outside, only physical phe- 
nomena; on the inside, only psychic phenomena. 

Now, must not this, I asked myself, necessarily 
be true of nature also? Viewed from the out- 



44 Two In One 

side by the scientific observer, nothing is seen, 
nothing can be seen, there is nothing else to be 
seen but motion, material phenomena; but be- 
hind this, on the inside, must there not be in this 
case also psychical phenomena, consciousness, 
thought, will, in a word personality? As self- 
conscious personality lies behind our own brain 
phenomena, so conscious thought and feeling will 
lie behind nature. In this way I worked my 
way back to a realization of a heart and mind, 
a love and intelligence in and above nature. 

Thus was my first and most difficult step of 
return taken. The rest of the way was compara- 
tively easy. 

In my philosophical investigations into the es- 
sential constitution of matter, I soon came to the 
utter rejection of its independent existence and 
of the real efficient agency of natural forces and 
to see the direct Divine agency in all phenomena. 
Nature came to be not less real, but God, the 
supreme reality, the all-in-all in nature. The 
external world became the objectified modes of 
the mind of God through humanity, in general, and 
the modes of the Divine mind in and through any 
particular observer in his relations to the rest of 
humanity. 

Finally, the way was cleared for the frank re- 
ception of the truth of man's eternal, spiritual 
inherency in God, of phenomena as a means of 



Two In One 45 

his self-conscious individuality and of the Christ 
as the ideal man and the Divine image in man, 
to whose perfectness all are destined to attain. 
And here I found peace and rest. 
Yours for the truth, 

N. 

P. S. — I leave in a few days on a trip to Europe 
— will write you soon again. 

In the Providence of God, I was destined never 
to receive that promised letter. The vessel, ' * The 
Minnetonka, ' ' on which my beloved friend and 
teacher embarked, was wrecked. Thus he whom 
I had learned so dearly to love, my father in 
the gospel of Spiritual truth, through whose in- 
structions I was started on my way to the light 
and to whom I was so fondly looking for future 
aid, suddenly passed from mortal sight and left 
in my life a great blank. 

[Remark.] The subsequent experiences of the 
author show that the removal for the time, of 
Prof. N. from his sense vision was a means of 
enabling his friend to render him only the 
greater service, as will be seen further on in this 
narrative of his experiences. 



CHAPTER III. 

The next twenty years of my life might appro- 
priately be designated the student period; for it 
was devoted to the most earnest investigation of 
every subject, of every work, and in every line of 
thought that promised light on the great ques- 
tions before me. The problems which pressed 
upon me for solution were such as these, — What 
is God? What is Man? What is the essential 
constitution of the external world? What are 
our relations to God and to nature ? What is the 
object of creation? What is the specific purpose 
of our world-race in its relations to other humani- 
ties in the universe? Whence and wherefore and 
what is evil? Why is it permitted to invade our 
race? What is to be the outcome of our race 
history, or the final destiny of man? Who is the 
Christ? What are his relations, through our 
world, to other worlds? — These and cognate ques- 
tions occupied my mind. 

It will be observed that they embrace the en- 
tire range of thought and knowledge — Philoso- 
phy, Science, History, Theology, etc. 

My method in the investigation of any sub- 
ject was, first to read up its literature, thus 



48 Two In One 

learning what men had thought and written upon 
it; then by long and deep meditation, seek such 
a conclusion as would harmonize with all other 
truth. It became a habit with me steadily to set 
my mind in a receptive attitude, looking to God 
for light with the full assurance that light would 
come. And I was never disappointed. My 
prayer was always, to me, satisfactorily answered. 
At some favored moment of deep interior thought, 
the senses being held in repose and the inner eye 
of rational intuition opened, the truth would 
start out as if embodied before me, and for that 
truth at that stage of my development, I needed 
no further inquiry. I saw and therefore knew. 

Among theearliest of my inquiries was, "What 
is the end of creation, and especially the object 
of our humanity in its relation to other world- 
races in the universe?" I clearly saw that the 
humanities of the various worlds of the universe 
are in some sort the Divine in self-individualiza- 
tion, and hence that each world-race bears a rela- 
tion to the Creator and to all other humanities 
somewhat similar to that of the different organs 
to the entire body. 

Now as each organ of the body sustains a spe- 
cific relation to the whole and performs a specific 
function in the body, so similarly each planetary 
humanity bears a specific relation to, and has a 
specific use in the Grand Man of the universe. 



Two In One 49 

What is the use, in the universe, of our planet ? 
was the problem to which I addressed myself. 
It seemed to me that it is only as we know the 
end for which anything exists that we can get 
any clear or complete conception of it. Take a 
watch for example. It is only as we view it in 
its use as a time keeper that its various parts 
fall into place and are properly understood. The 
same is true of our world or any other, or of all 
worlds. The song of the angels at the birth of 
Christ, " Glory to God in the Highest," signifies 
that by that event the way was opened for a 
greater manifestation of the Divine in the highest 
realms of being, and that, therefore, it was an 
event in which the entire universe had a vital 
interest. 

My mind being imbued with this thought, and 
seeking whatever light might come to me on the 
subject, in reading the original text of Paul's 
Euistle to the Ephesians, I happened upon what 
seems to me a confirmation of the above view of 
the Divine incarnation in Christ, in the true ren- 
dering of the 3rd chapter, 9th and 10th verses 
of that book. The language is: "Who (God) 
created all things to the intent that now unto 
principalities and powers in the heavens, might 
be made known through the church, the mani- 
fold wisdom of God, according to the eternal pur- 
pose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ' ' 



50 Two In One 

The Apostle is here speaking of a great mystery 
which, having been hidden in times past, though 
predicted through the prophets, was now revealed 
in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It was the 
mystery which Peter says the angels desired to 
look into, that wonderful revelation of God which 
was to come to the universe through our worlds 
and of which, at the laying of the foundations of 
our earth, "the morning stars sang together and 
the sons of God shouted for joy," and which the 
angels had celebrated at Christ's birth. The 
Apostle here says in terms as plain as speech can 
be framed, that this world (our race) was created 
in order that through and in us there might be 
a Divine incarnation with reference to the more 
complete manifestation of God's wisdom to the 
principalities and powers in the heavens — or to 
other peoples of the universe. 

This being true, it follows that the coming of 
Jesus Christ is the center around which all things 
in our world's ongoings revolve and from which 
all truth relating to our humanity must be 
viewed. It is the pivotal point of history — the 
point towards which, antecedent to Christ's ap- 
pearing, all our historical evolution looked for- 
ward, and for which such evolution was a prepara- 
tion; and it is the point where all subsequent 
evolution towards race perfection has flowed as a 
stream from its fountain. 



O^^^v^^X^ 



Two In One 51 

It follows also that such being the end of our 
race development, the introduction of evil as the 
prime factor of our race experiences was not an 
undesigned mar-plot, but had its use in the grand 
consummation towards which all has been moving 
from the beginning, viz., the indwelling of the 
Divine life in the very outermost bounds of the 
sense-consciousness of all — not only of Adam's 
race but of the entire universe. 

This grand view of the sublime tragedy enacted 
on our little orb, viz., the Divine incarnation with 
reference to universal ends, has been the cardinal 
principle guiding me in all my investigations — 
that with which I have assumed that all facts, 
theories and Biblical interpretations must har- 
monize. This thought has determined the archi- 
tectural form of my mental building, and the 
standard for the testing of the material entering 
into the structure. Whatever has not fitted in 
with this general plan has. been at once rejected 
as untrue. Taking my stand at this central 
point, viz., the Divine incarnation as the prime 
end of our existence as a race and its final result 
in bringing God to be the All-in-All, and guided 
by the principle that nothing can be true which 
contravenes the doctrine of God's perfectness as 
Infinite Love, Wisdom and Power, I was led to 
make excursions out upon every line of thought, 
for the time being centralizing all my mind 's pow- 



52 Two In One 

ers upon the subject in hand, and as seen in that 
particular line of vision, then afterwards return- 
ing to my Christ-center for the correction of my 
bearings, and conforming the knowledge acquired 
to my standard principles of truth. 

Why I was giving so many years to these in- 
vestigations I did not at the time understand. I 
was impelled, by an irresistible impulse, to learn 
and know. There was apparently no practical 
personal advantage to myself arising out of such 
knowledge acquisitions, and there were decided 
disadvantages from a worldly point of view. 

At first, I was fired with a very earnest zeal, 
by tongue and pen, to give the truth as seen by 
me to others ; but met with only disappointment. 
My thought was out of focus with the present 
mental status of the world. Again and again 
I said, "I will cease my attempts to solve mys- 
teries in which the world takes no interest, be- 
cause supposed to be unknowable, and bring my 
thought into such relation to the present age as 
to be of some practical use to my fellow man; 
and, at the same time, secure those material ad- 
vantages, financially and socially, for myself and 
family which my talents directed in channels ap- 
preciated by the world will naturally gain. With 
this end in view, I at various times forced myself 
to stop writing and thinking on these abstruse 
subjects, and made the effort again to ecclesiastify 



Two In One 53 

myself and take a church pastorate, or to enter 
into some business pursuit. But all to no pur- 
pose. My mania (or lust) for knowing, as it 
seemed just for the sake of knowing, would 
sieze me, and I would find myself again borne 
along on its resistless and restless tide. 

It was not that I was unaware of the fact that 
truth unembodied in character by being joined 
with its dual good through obedience, is not only 
valueless in the formation of permanent character, 
but is actually a source of danger and condemna- 
tion to its possessor; yet I persisted in the face 
of this knowledge. 

I suffered the usual consequences of truth in 
the intellect not united in marriage with good in 
the affections. I became "puffed up." Just 
as previously, flatteries and worldly prosperity 
nurtured my pride, so now my mental acquisitions 
had the same effect. I felt (if I did not say) 
with the Pharisee, "I thank Thee, Lord, that I 
am not as other men are, or even as this publi- 
can." To know truth was to me the prime end 
of existence. My spiritual state was that of a 
cold, uncharitable critic of the limitations in 
knowledge of other men. It will be readily in- 
ferred that my lack of harmony with my environ- 
ment soon reduced me to poverty. This to myself 
was a small matter ; but on account of my family 
it was a sore trial. My wife, not sympathizing 



54 Two In One 

with nor understanding me, naturally regarded 
me as culpably negligent of duty, and responsible 
for all her privations. 

But my little Roberta grew up to be a great 
comfort me. She combined, in harmonious 
unity, the best and strongest qualities of both her 
father and mother. Her life as a child had been 
a hard one, and she exemplified the truth of 
Solomon's statement that it is good to bear the 
yoke in youth. Although she was cut off from 
many of the sources of pleasure that belong of 
right to normal childhood and youth, she was 
endowed with an unusual ability to rise superior 
to circumstances and environments. Her indi- 
viduality was very strongly marked, and, from 
resources within herself, she could extract con- 
tentment and happiness from the most unpro- 
pitious surroundings. 

Her mental progress was rapid, and her heart 
kept pace with her mind. She became my 
amanuensis, and her interest in the most abstruse 
questions was to me a source of constant and 
pleasurable surprise. Her love and reverence for 
her father, and her unwavering faith in him under 
the most trying conditions amounted almost to 
idolatry. 

Poor child! From the human point of view, 
your devotion was in one way poorly rewarded, 



Two In One 55 

seeing that it led you along so thorny a road of 
suffering. 

About the twentieth year of her age, I came to 
the experimental study of spiritualism. And here 
I would fain draw a veil over mv life, for it was 
a period of darkness and delusion, in which the 
highest of all truths was dragged down into the 
mire of sense. But I see now that this sad ex- 
perience and its results were the natural conse- 
quences of my heredity, nurtured by my past life, 
and were the necessary means, therefore, of re- 
vealing to me my true self and delivering me 
from my pride and self-love. 

I had learned from Swedenborg that the spirit- 
ual world, the immediate receptacle of all de- 
parted spirits of men, both good and evil, stands 
in vital relation with this natural world, and that 
although the veil separating the two realms may 
be drawn aside and communication established, 
yet such a course is attended with great danger. 
The following quotation will suffice here to in- 
dicate his teaching: 

"Many persons are under the belief that man 
may be taught by God by means of spirits speak- 
ing with him. But those who believe this, and 
foster the belief in their will, are not aware that 
it is connected with danger to their souls. Man 
is, as to his spirit, as long as he lives in the 
world, in the midst of spirits; but the spirits are 



56 Two In One 

not aware that they are near man, nor is man 
aware that he is in connection with spirits. The 
reason is, that they are conjoined immediately as 
to the affections of the will, and mediately as to 
the thoughts of the understanding ; for man thinks 
naturally, but spirits think spiritually; and fur- 
ther, natural thought and spiritual thought make 
one only by correspondences. It is this that 
prevents men and spirits from knowing anything 
of each other. But as soon as spirits begin to 
speak with man, they leave their own spiritual 
state and enter into man's natural state; and 
being then aware that they are with man, they 
conjoin themselves with the thoughts of his af- 
fection, and from them converse with him. They 
cannot enter into anything but man's natural 
state, for similar affection with the thought de- 
rived from it effects conjunction in all cases, but 
dissimilar affection causes separation. It is from 
this circumstance that when a spirit speaks, he is 
in the same principles as the man with whom he 
speaks, whether those principles are true or 
false ; and further, that he calls them into activity, 
and by means of his own affection conjoined to 
that of the man strongly confirms them. Hence 
it is evident that only similar spirits speak with 
man, or operate manifestly upon him; for mani- 
fest operation coincides with speech. For this 
reason, none but enthusiastic spirits speak with 



Two In One 57 

enthusiasts; etc. * * * All spirits that speak 
with man were once in the world, and were then 
of the same character. I have been able by 
repeated experience to know that such is the 
case. And what, morover, is ridiculous is, that 
when a man imagines that the spirit speaking 
with him, or operating upon him, is the Holy 
Spirit, the spirit also himself believes that he is 
so. This is common in the case of enthusiastic 
spirits. The danger is thus evident to which a 
man is exposed who speaks with spirits, or mani- 
festly perceives their operation. For he is 
ignorant of the quality of his affection, whether 
it is good or evil, or with what other affections 
it is conjoined; and if he has a conceit of his own 
intelligence, the spirit humors every thought 
which proceeds from his affection. So also if 
any one has a partiality for certain principles 
fanned into flame by any fire existing amongst 
those who are not in truths from any genuine 
affection, the consequences are similar. For when 
a spirit from a similar affection humors a man's 
thoughts or principles, the one then leads the 
other, like the blind leading the blind, until they 
both fall intn the ditch. The Pythonic diviners 
— that is, those who were believed to be inspired 
by Apollo, the Pythian god — were formerly of 
this description; the Magi also in Egypt and 
Babel; and on account of their conversing with 



58 Two In One 

spirits, and the operation of the spirits upon them 
being openly felt, were both called wise. But it 
was by this means that the worship of God was 
converted into the worship of demons, and the 
church perished. Such means of intercourse 
.were accordingly forbidden to the children of 
Israel on pain of death." 

This I had read and believed, but on the prin- 
ciple that "fools rush in where angels fear to 
tread," or in accordance with that other proverb, 
" Experience teaches a dear school, but fools will 
learn in no other," blinded by presumption and 
impelled by curiosity, I by opening myself to 
conscious spirit influx rashly steped down into 
this whirlpool of delusion. I found that I was, 
as the phrase goes, "mediumistic," and that I 
could throw my voluntary nature into such a 
state of passivity as to allow my hand to be used 
in writing. The influx to which I thus sub- 
jected myself was mentally exciting and sensu- 
ously exhilarating. I came to talk with spirits 
— professed philosophers, poets, statesmen, etc., 
as familiarly as if they were present in the flesh. 
Their utterances were all naturally in the way of 
flattery. That is, they coming into my sphere 
of thought imbibed my egotism, and were im- 
pelled to speak accordingly. My motive at 
first was that of experimental investigation, but 
as I gradually passed under the psychic influence 



Two in One 59 

whose influx I had invited, that motive changed 
to a desire for the development and exercise of 
occult powers. 

I became possessed with the idea that a band 
of superior intelligences were allied with and 
operating through me, and I fondly expected won- 
derful results in the way of increased power and 
influence. 

My wife and daughter also fell under the do- 
minion of the insane spell that enthralled me, 
both becoming trance mediums. Through them 
and through my own involuntary writing, we 
held constant communication with what pur- 
ported to be the great and the good of all past 
ages as well as with departed friends. 

We were led away into all sorts of falsities, the 
most dangerous of which pertained to sex-rela- 
tions. By invitation, a celebrated lecturer with 
his wife visited us and delivered a series of lec- 
tures. My own family and all the people with 
whom we were associated were completely cap- 
tivated by them. They preached the doctrine 
of sexual affinity, declaiming in unmeasured terms 
against the unholiness of the marriage relation be- 
tween any other than what they termed soul 
mates. Sexual attraction being the determining 
factor as to who is and who is not one's affinity, 
and it not being at all unusual for a husband or 
a wife to find some other woman or man more 



60 Two In One 

attractive than the consort, the tendency of such 
doctrine is naturally to break up existing rela- 
tions in the search for the soul mate. Thus to 
their awful detriment, do the victims of this 
dreadful folly profane the holiest principle of 
man's nature, by dragging it down into the mire 
of sense. 

Our lecturer and his wife (or the woman with 
him) set themselves up as an example to be fol- 
lowed. They having discovered their affinitized 
relation had separated from their former married 
partners. 

The evil seeds sown in the hearts of our little 
band speedily sprang up, and bore their bitter 
fruits. Sexual passion became the standard of 
morality among us, marriage became a mockery, 
and more than one of our households were broken 
up. Under the inspiration of this baleful doc- 
trine, my wife and I, without deliberate inten- 
tion of separating, gave ourselves over to a free- 
dom of thought and bearing toward others which 
soon led us asunder, each forming a violent at- 
tachment to another supposed more congenial 
spirit. Though sinning deeply, we were merci- 
fully preserved from any overt act of criminality. 

Our daughter married an adventurer, who soon 
abandoned her, as we afterwards learned he had 
abandoned other women, in his search for his 
affinity. By this calamity, which we had been 



Two In One 61 

the means of bringing upon our beloved child, 
and by the direful domestic tragedies taking place 
around us, we were finally awakened from our 
insane dream, and shrinking with horror from the 
pit into which we had fallen, turned again to each 
other in the endeavor to atone for the past by a 
more intense mutual love and devotion in the 
future. Each looking for the harmonies instead 
of the discords between us, we were surprised to 
find how little there really was, after all, of dis- 
agreement in those things which make up the es- 
sentials of a happy life. 

But our new-found blessedness was short-lived. 
My poor Lillian! Her daughter's troubles and 
(as she felt it) her own disgraceful experience 
proved too much for her. She gradually declined 
in health and peacefully passed away from our 
sight. Alas ! Alas ! As I gazed upon those dear 
lifeless features, how sad my memories! How 
I had failed to appreciate her; how little charity 
I had exercised; comparatively how little happi- 
ness I had given her, and how much suffering 
caused her! 

What a return I had made to that gentle, child- 
like nature who in the prime of her youth and 
beauty had ventured her whole happiness in my 
keeping ! How weak and erring is man when left 
to his own selfish nature! 

It now became my supreme effort to undo the 



62 Two In One 

sad effects of the errors into which I and the peo- 
ple connected with me had fallen. To my horror, 
I found that in the surrender of my will I had 
become the slave of the psychic forces operating 
through me, and that I was powerless in my own 
strength to break my chains I had lapsed into 
a state of passivity resultant from a partial par- 
alysis of my voluntary nature, and it required the 
utmost effort to bring my mind aggressively to 
bear on any subject of thought or matter of busi- 
ness. But seeking aid from above, after a pro- 
longed struggle, I succeeded in once more attain- 
ing freedom in the use of my own powers. 

I had theoretically known before that the 
Divinest of all gifts to man — that which makes 
him to be man — and therefore, that which the 
Creator most sedulously guards against invasion, 
is freedom; and now, at a fearful cost, I had ex- 
perimentally proved it. I had learned that to 
yield one's personality to the control of another, 
whether of man or spirit, whether by mesmeric or 
spiritualistic appliance, is to give up the priceless 
jewel of manhood. 



CHAPTER IV. 

By these visitations of penalty, I was awakened 
from my error, as if from a troubled dream. Like 
the prodigal, I came to myself. In the grave of 
my wife, I buried my former mental self-suf- 
ficiency, with its foolish pride and vain ambition. 
I stood as a leafless, branchless trunk, rent by the 
lightning stroke. I could not then understand 
the meaning of my calamities. I was conscious 
that I had not intentionally done wrong. My 
error was more of the head than of the heart; 
I was deluded but acted conscientiously under 
that delusion. 

In meditation on these fiery trials, I was 
brought to see clearly that all suffering is but the 
legitimate result of our past lives considered in 
our entire relations to humanity reaching back 
from the present to our heredity in the remotest 
past; and that hence I was bearing the penalty 
of my father's sins, as well as that of my own. 
I saw that such suffering or penalty is only the 
working of the eternal law of evil's inevitable 
destruction, and is the Divine pledge of the 
eventual freedom and perfectness of all humanity 
in God. Evil bears within it the seeds of its own 
destruction. God alone is eternal. It was 
clear to me that the Divine perfections demand 
that all evil and suffering have reference to and 



64 Two In One 

result in good. If this were not true, then God is 
not Love, or He is not Wisdom and Power. The 
meaning of Christ's words to Simon concerning 
Mary Magdalen came to me in greater fullness 
than ever before, ' ' She loves much, she is forgiven 
much," and I was made to understand as never 
before the universal principle of God's dealings 
with evil as illustrated in the Parable of the 
Prodigal Son. We all, like him, depart from 
our Father's house and waste our substance in 
riotous living; but sooner or later, either here or 
hereafter, we shall awake and return — some by 
repentance and regeneration; others, who have 
become fixed forms of evil, by what is termed in 
the Scriptures the second death. This second 
death will consist of a gradual disintegration of 
the life of the character built up of falsity and 
delusion which (to the consciousness of the sub- 
ject) is an actual dying. In other words, the 
old perverted natural man must be eliminated, 
and the new Divine man must take his place, 
either by the gradual process of daily dying 
(as the Apostle puts it) in the process of regen- 
eration in this life, or in the consuming fires of 
inherent lust in the age to come. 

And further, I was enabled to see (0, what un- 
speakable joy this thought afforded me!) that 
by the working of the eternal law of Justice re- 
lating each person to another, I would be en- 



Two In One 65 

abled and privileged, somehow, some time, to 
compensate the victims of my folly for all the 
evil and suffering which my errors had caused. 

Thus seeing that the afflictions of both myself 
and of those connected with me, were "working 
out a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory," I was enabled to rejoice. The immediate 
result was to bring me into a deeper and fuller 
consciousness of God. 

But my heart was sore pained for Roberta. She 
seemed as one cast forth upon a stormy sea, with 
nothing to bear her up from sinking into its 
depths. Her face wore a frightened look, as 
that of a hunted animal. I knew not what to 
do, and could only look to heaven for light and 
help. 

My way was soon shown we through the action 
of Roberta herself. One day she came to me and 
flung herself down at my knee. Burying her face 
in her hands, she cried, "0, father, I must leave 
this dreadful place. Please let us go ! ' ' 

"Certainly, my dear," I replied, "Where shall 
we go?" 

"Anywhere! I would like to hide myself in 
the woods, away from everybody." 

"How would you like to go to California?" 
I asked. 

"There, or anywhere, only so I am out of sight 
of the world." 



66 Two In One 

"Then to California we shall go, my dear, and 
find such a place as you desire." 

And so, arranging the few matters necessary, 
we like pilgrims, not knowing where our journey 
would end, bade farewell to the scenes of our sor- 
rows, our last act being to weep together over 
the grave of her who had been to us, respectively, 
wife and mother. 

I gladly marked a change for the better at 
once, in my dear child. Nestling down at my 
side in the cars, she said, ' ' My precious old papa, 
I am going to make a foolish request of you." 

"Well, pet, say on. I will grant anything you 
wish, if it will help you back to the sunshine. ,: 

"It is this. I want us to change our names. 
Now don't start; I've thought it all out, and it 
isn't so dreadful. Your second name is Mc- 
Nair. Instead of Robert M. Morven, I want you 
to be Robert and I Roberta McNair. Thus we 
shall easily hide ourselves from the world." 

At first I shrank from the thought, but fearing 
my dissent might prove injurious to her, I said, 
"Very well, my darling, be it as you wish. Mc- 
Nair we shall be." 

To mere human vision, my condition at this 
time seemed almost desperate. I was physically 
and mentally depressed, with a helpless daughter 
on my hands requiring the tenderest care and on 
my way to a land of strangers, without home or 



Two In One 67 

friends or money. Yet I was singularly content 
and hopeful. I had so fully cast my care upon 
Him who "heareth the young ravens when they 
cry" and who hath said, "Seek ye first the King- 
dom of God, and all these things shall be added/ ' 
that all doubts and fears were dissipated, and 
even a feeling of joyful exhilaration possessed me. 

Events proved that my confidence was well 
grounded. Amongst our travelling companions, 
was a Mr. Clark, a pleasant, genial gentleman of 
perhaps sixty years of age. He and I became 
sufficiently intimate to exchange confidences to a 
limited extent, and I intimated to him the desire 
of my daughter to find a home in some secluded 
spot. 

"Why, my dear sir," he exclaimed, "I have 
just the place for you. It is a small farm in a 
valley of the Sierras. There is a substantial 
cottage on the place, comfortably furnished, just 
awaiting some one to occupy it. You are wel- 
come to take your daughter there, and remain as 
long as you wish. I live in the city, and seldom 
go out to my ranch. In fact I only spend a 
brief time there in the summer, and 1 would like 
xo have some reliable person to take general 
charge of matters, and direct the two Chinamen 
employed on the place." 

So it was settled that we should make our 
home at the place of Mr. Clark, and on arriving 



68 Two In One 

we found it to be just the ideal spot for which we 
were longing. Here, alone with Nature, "far 
from the madding crowd," free from molestation, 
we abode five pleasant years. Roberta soon be- 
came interested in poultry and dairy cares; and 
I gave such attention to the farm operations as 
were needed, spending the rest of my time in 
hunting, fishing, reading, or whatever else was 
pleasing to my fancy. 

During the summer months, we rambled like 
children over the hills, and along the purling 
mountain stream that ran near our home, revel- 
ing in the lovely scenery; and in winter, housed 
comfortably, we were entertained by the wailing 
winds, the whirling snow, and the bright glint 
of the sun on the mountain peaks around us. 

The psychological effect upon me of five years 
in this mountain retreat was to bring me back 
into vital touch with Nature. In my experience, 
Wordsworth's beautiful lines had been exempli- 
fied: 

"Heaven lies all about us in our infancy, 

Shades of the prison-house begin to close 

Upon the growing boy, 

But he beholds the light and whence it flows. 

He sees it in his joy; 

The youth who daily farther from the East 

Must travel, still is Nature's priest, 

And by the vision splendid 

Is on his way attended; 

At length, the man perceives it die away 

And fade into the light of common day." 



|Two In One 69 

As a child and youth, I was in close sympathy 
with all the ongoings of nature, and consciously re- 
sponsive to the life of God manifested through 
her throbbing heart. I then did not know, but 
felt God in all things. 

But through my artificial teaching and life, the 
glorious vision of youth had passed away, and the 
supernal light had faded "into the light of com- 
mon day," exemplifying in me the language of 
the same poet, 

"A primrose on the river's brim 
A primrose only was to him, 
And it was nothing more." 

The very heart had been taken out of things 
by my theology, and God had become a limited 
personality situated at some central point in 
space, outside of His universe, as its attendant, 
ab extra, instead of being its immanent life. 

Under the inspiration of my surroundings, I 
now came to a realization, from a scientific stand- 
point, of God's absoluteness. Taking my thought 
position at the center, in the Infinite Energy of 
the scientist, and looking outward upon creation 
as the effect of that outflowing energy, God be- 
came the All-in- All of all phenomena and forces 
in the universe, and all life became to me but the 
pulsating expression of the Divine life immanent 
in man and nature. Over the mountains and 



70 Two In One 

the valleys, through the clouds and the sunshine, 
shone the glory of the Lord ; in the twitter of the 
birds, in the lowing of the kine, in the laughter 
of childhood, I heard His voice. Mentally perceiv- 
ing in the light of scientific truth how God 
is all in all, my heart responded and opened joy- 
fully to receive Him as manifest in His works, 
and I for the first time entered fully into the senti- 
ment, "The heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the firmament showeth His handiwork; day 
unto day uttereth speech and night unto night 
showeth knowledge.' ' 

Mr. Clark spent some time with us each sum- 
mer. I found him to be a student of Oriental 
philosophy. He had travelled in the East, and 
had become very much enamored of what has 
latterly been brought so prominently before the 
Western World as esoteric Buddhism. I had not 
given it much attention, and was glad to hear 
him present his view of its beauties and excel- 
lencies. Through him, I obtained books and cut- 
ting loose from my moorings (as has been my cus- 
tom in all investigations) launched out upon the 
sea of theosophical thought. After a somewhat 
extended investigation of the subject, I wrote him 
as follows : 
My Dear Mr. Clark: — 

Accept my thanks for the works which you 
sent me. I have read them with great interest. 



Two In One 71 

I would prefer to talk with you on the subject; 
but as you have requested, will write you briefly 
the results of my reading and thinking. 

Oriental Theosophy, as I gather it from these 
and other books, is a system without God, with- 
out a Saviour, without forgiveness of sin or any 
means of deliverance from the bondage and suf- 
fering of evil, but through an indefinite number 
of ages and of repeated reincarnations or rebirths 
in the flesh, the final result of which is self-deifica- 
tion. Thus the individual or person attaining 
Divine proportions is the highest expression of 
Deity. 

Instead of the Heavenly Father of Christianity, 
a being of love and intelligence to be loved and 
communed with by man, forgiving his iniquities 
and reaching down to help him to a state of free- 
dom and blissful unity with himself, this system 
according to one of its leading interpreters, " Pre- 
fers believing that from eternity, retired within 
itself, the spirit of Deity neither wills nor cre- 
ates." All things proceed from an impersonal, 
unintelligent principle or maelstrom of force. Out 
of this, all things, man included, are evolved with 
no assured or predetermined definite end or aim. 
Somehow, through the spontaneous union of this 
mysterious, unintelligent force with a self-exist- 
ant stuff called matter, the worlds were formed 
and life was born. 



72 Two In One 

All life begins first as monads each one of which 
has the potency of possibly advancing through 
successive forms from lower to higher, finally to 
culminate in self-consciousness as man. And 
having reached this point, the man may possibly 
through numberless reincarnations, by his own 
unaided effort, gain deliverence from the thrall- 
dom of matter and sensation. 

Without Divine love, sympathy or help, he is 
ground down under the unalterable law of Karma 
or the law of consequences, from which there is 
no deliverance but through expiation. 

Contrast all this with the Spirit of Christianity 
as expressed in the language of the prophet 
quoted and applied by Christ to himself: "The 
Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He hath 
annointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; 
He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted; to 
preach deliverance to the captive and recovering 
of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that 
are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the 
Lord." Or again, contrast it with the Lord's 
prayer in which we are directed to look for for- 
giveness to a loving Father; or to the home-com- 
ing and reception of the Prodigal Son; or again 
to Christ's language to the sinning Magdalen. 

Still further, contrast the result of the two sys- 
tems, as exemplified respectively in India and in 
our Christian civilization. Oliphant writing of 



Two In One 73 

Oriental Theosophy in India, says: "The final re- 
sult of more than 3000 years of this kind of in- 
spiration has been to crowd a greater number of 
idle, useless monks, of ragged religious mendi- 
cants and revolting fakirs upon a given area of 
the world's surface than can be found in the same 
space in any other part of the world." 

Now, allowing for all the short-comings of our 
Christian civilization, I think you will agree with 
me that taken as a whole, it is almost infinitely 
superior to that here pictured of the Orient. 

But enough of this now. We will thrash it 
out further when we meet. 

Yours sincerely, 

M . 

The following is Mr. Clark's response: 

My Dear Sir: — 

Yours received. Accept my thanks for your 
candid statement of your views on Theosophy. As 
you say, when we meet we can further thrash the 
matter out. Please allow me to suggest that you 
and your daughter break the monotony of your 
retirement by coming out for a time into the 
world. It is not well to lose rapport altogether 
with the general life of humanity. 

My sister-in-law, the woman of my household, 
of whom you have heard me speak, joins me in 
a cordial invitation to you both to visit us and 



74 Two In One 

make our house your home as long as you 
choose to remain in the city. 

Very sincerely yours, 

JAMES CLARK. 

At first, Roberta was wholly disinclined to 
leave our retreat, even for a short time; but on 
further consideration it was decided between us 
that she should, without me, visit our friends 
for at least a few days. We accordingly wrote 
them when to expect her, and so she went, leav- 
ing me alone with God and nature. During her 
absence, my experience reminded me somewhat 
of Elijah's feeling in the Wilderness, where the 
Lord passed before him in the earthquake, then 
the fire, and finally was found to be, not in these 
external violences, but in the still, small voice 
within. In my lone communions with nature, 
I realized the Divine presence in the deeps of 
my own being as never before. 

Ere long, a letter came from Roberta, from 
which I make the following extract: "I am en- 
tering into the world's life with a zest that I had 
supposed never to be again possible. 

Every avenue of enjoyment which social life 
can afford is thrown wide open, inviting me to 
enter. Mrs. Clark is superior to any other 
woman I have ever known. I wish, father, you 
could meet her. Upon her face rests a radiance 



Two In One 75 

of joy, a peace, a Divine glory reminding me of 
the halo around the head of Christ by the old 
painters. Christ is to her a living, present, 
indwelling personality. She fulfills Paul's 
words, "No longer do I live, but Christ liveth in 
me." She exemplifies to me a power and beauty 
in Christianity such as I had never conceived. 
Her entire thought is for the good of others. 
She lives for the good she can do and, in what 
she does, has no personal ends to subserve. 

Her son, Mr. Fred Clark, of whom his uncle 
has told you, is on all occasions at my disposal 
as escort, and in every possible way endeavors 
to make me enjoy my visit. He is a well-edu- 
cated, refined gentleman, and handsome withal. 
He is so superior to most men that I feel proud 
of him as my friend and companion — there now, 
lest I make you think I have fallen in love with 
him, I will say no more. 

I have not been altogether idle since I have 
been here. Soon after my arrival, through a 
work on the Kindergarten in Mr. Clark's library, 
I became very much interested in that subject, 
and there being a school near by, I have for 
some time been a daily visitor and student. I 
should like so much to engage in the work. I 
cannot tell you how I enjoy it. 

If it were not for separation from you, dear 



76 Two In One 

papa, I should take a position in the school of 
which I speak. 

If you are very lonely, I will hasten to you; 
otherwise, I may extend my visit somewhat longer 
than I anticipated. 

Your loving daughter, 

ROBERTA. 

I was glad to learn of my daughter's awaken- 
ing interest in life, and wrote to her that it 
would in my judgment be best for her and hence 
for me, that she should engage in teaching. And 
so it came to pass that her visit was prolonged 
to the following summer. 

I was delighted on her return to behold in her 
a transformation such as I had never before seen 
in any one. Her countenance was radiant. 

"My dear," I exclaimed, "It does me good to 
look at you. What blessedness has come upon 
you?" 

Oh, everything good, father," she cried. 

First, and chiefly, I have learned from my dear 
friend, Mrs. Clark, to make Christianity a prac- 
tical, living, present reality. 

"Second, I have been engaged in a work that 
I greatly love and enjoy, and — " 

"Well, and — and what else?" 

"0 papa, dear, I may as well out with it, I 
have found one who, next to my father, is my 
ideal of a man." 



tt 



Two In One 77 



. i 



It 



Ah, you have? I suspected something of the 
kind. And so young Mr. Clark is purposing to 
take my child and companion from me, and you 
are conniving at his nefarious design ?" 

Now, papa, I haven't mentioned Mr. Clark !" 
No, it was not necessary. Your letters re- 
vealed your secret. Is the matter definitely set- 
tled between you? 

" No; to be candid, Mr. Clark has entreated me 
to become his wife." 

"And you— V 9 

"I declined to give him a definite answer till 
I could come back to the wilderness, and in its 
silence interrogate my heart, and (throwing her 
arms around my neck) consulting my dear, dear 
father." 

"Of course you love Mr. Clark ?" 

"It seems to me that he is the very soul of my 
soul." 

"Well, my precious one, your father greatly 
distrusts his ability to give you advice. In this 
case, I think you are your own best counsellor. 
Did you tell Mr. Clark of your past experiences?" 

"Yes, certainly, papa, all — I insisted, against his 
protest, in going over the entire sad story; but 
it seemed only to intensify his feeling toward 



me." 



<( 



Sensible man!" 



78 Two In One 



i c 



He will be here in about a month, when I am 
to give him my final answer." 

It will suffice here to say that Mr. Clark made 
his appearance in due time, and received for his 
answer, ''Yes." 

The question now came up as to the time of 
the wedding. Mr. Clark pleaded for an early 
date ; but as some mining interests claimed my im- 
mediate attention, it was deferred six months 
later. And here I must explain that during the 
years of our sojourn in this mountain region, I 
had been drawn to the study of its geological 
formation. Roberta and I had latterly turned 
our rambles to practical account by investigat- 
ing with reference to gold bearing strata. We 
had located a spot where we thought there were 
evidences of gold, and, during her stay in Oak- 
land, I had the matter tested, with very favorable 
results. Hence I felt that my presence was 
needed there for the time. Mr. Clark having hau 
some experience in mining, I took him to tne 
place and he pronounced it a very rich find. And 
so it proved. 

Some weeks before the day set for the wedding, 
with reluctance, we bade farewell to our mountain 
retreat, which had received us as sad, friendless, 
homeless wanderers, and was now sending us 
away joyous, blessed with dear friends, and 
abundant means at our command. 



Two In One 79 

On the morning of our departure, we knelt 
down, hand in hand, and fervently thanked our 
Heavenly Father for His manifold blessings. Our 
afflictions, the result of our evil states, He had 
made to ultimate in blessings, our sorrow He had 
turned into joy, our crying into laughter. Our 
hearts sang in unison, ''0 that men would praise 
the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonder- 
ful works to the children of men!" 

We took rooms in Oakland, and Roberta being 
busy with her dressmakers, and I with some busi- 
ness matters, I did not at once meet Mrs. Clark. 

After some days had elapsed, Roberta said, 
"Now, father, this has gone on long enough. 
You must go with me this very morning to visit 
Fred's mother. I am so anxious that you shall 
know her. You and she will find much in com- 
mon, I am sure. It is now nearing the time of 
my appointment with her, and she is expecting 
you. Here is Fred, who will go with us.' , 

Under their chaperonage, I soon found myself 
seated in the parlor of Mr. Clark's elegant man- 
sion on street. Mr. Clark, like many 

others, while doing business in San Francisco, 
preferred the "City of Homes" across the bay as 
his residence. 

In a few moments, a stately, dignified lady 
stood before me, and I was introduced to Mrs. 
Clark. As our eyes met — ' ' Mary ! " — " Robert ! ' ' 



80 Two In One 

were our exclamations as we stood gazing in as- 
tonishment at each other. Involuntarily I 
opened my arms, and she rushed into my em- 
brace. Again was renewed the experience of my 
boyhood at the Methodist altar of prayer, "God — 
Mary," echoed through all the recesses of my 
being, and my rapture was unspeakable. How 
long we thus stood violating conventionalism and 
shocking propriety, in the persons of our son and 
daughter looking on, I know not. I was ob- 
livious to time and circumstance, and was con- 
scious only of the truth of my absolute oneness in 
God with Mary. 

Our greeting passed, she said, "Why, Robert, 
how is this? Why are you here under the name 
of McNair? I should at once have known Ro- 
berta to be your daughter, had she not been dis- 
guised by bearing another name. Now I can 
understand why she seemed from the first to be 
an old acquaintance, and why she so interested 
and attracted me. I see now that she, by her 
resemblance to you, constantly reminded me of 
you. ' ' 

"It was all my fault," interrupted Roberta, 
"We had had so much trouble that I wished to 
lose myself to the world, and persuaded papa to 
drop the name "Morven," and for the time be 
known only by his middle name, McNair, the 
patronymic of his mother. He reluctantly agreed 



Two In One 81 

to it, and that is all there is about it. I told 
Fred, of course, but bound him to secrecy." 

"Yes, Roberta told me of the change in name, 
but she did not in the least prepare me for this 
part of the program. I see plainly, now, why 
she was so anxious to get you together." 

"Now, Fred," exclaimed Eoberta, "You know 
that I never had any idea papa and your mother 
were even acquainted, much less old lovers." 

"Indeed, you are mistaken," cried Mrs. Clark, 
"We were never lovers, but just youthful 
friends " 



a 



Oh,' ! exclaimed Fred, "Is that the way 
friends expressed their friendship in your youth? 
How I should like to have lived then. ' ' 

"But you see," I explained, "It has been so 
long ago that we were glad to see each other 
again. Your mother and I were like sister and 
brother, and I have not seen her, nor scarcely 
heard of her, since we were girl and boy together 
at her father's house." 

"Well, anyway, it is most awfully romantic. It 
is better than a novel. How tragically mother 
rushed — Now, mother, it was all right, don't 
blush so. Come, Berta, let us leave these youth- 
ful lovers to themselves. I am sure they will 
just at present excuse our absence." And with 
a bow they left us. It now became settled that 
there were to be two weddings instead of one. 



82 Two In One 

For some weeks following our marriage, we 
dwelt in rapturous obliviousness of our surround- 
ings. The heavens were opened to us and we 
realized our eternal unity in spirit. Our entire 
beings were, to our consciousness, blended into 
one. It was as if a window had been opened 
into the inner realm of spirit and to our visions 
respectively, each was revealed to the other as the 
eternal, spiritual, other self, she as a love-form 
and I as a truth-form, the two constituting one 
individual, she being the love of me and I, the 
truth of her. 

Not only so, but this sense of unity pervaded 
our entire external existence. All the love ele- 
ment of my nature — all my outward affections 
and emotions, were sensed by me as a stream flow- 
ing from the fountain of my love-self within, and 
by which all my thought was quickened; and all 
the truth or intellectual element — all mental 
activities in her were realized by her as having 
their origin in her spiritual other self within. 

Thus her outward personality was to my spir- 
itualized perception, only the visual manifesta- 
tion of my inmost love, and my personality was, 
to her, the expression of her inward truth self. 

And what was marvelous to us, as we often in 
our talks remarked to each other, was that as the 
result of our spiritual union, the life to each flow- 



Two In One 8a 

ing down from God through the other was 
sensed as the very Divine life and so our spiritual 
union was at one with our union to God. 

Through these experiences were revealed to us 
the spiritual nature and meaning of sex. 

Like the disciples beholding the transfigura- 
tion of the Master, we for the time had ascended 
the mount of spiritual perception and were per- 
mitted to behold the truth in its inner glories. 
But with us, as with them, the vision passed and 
we again descended to the valley of physical 
sense, by prayer and fasting to cast out thence 
the infesting demon of error. 



< i 



Robert," said Mrs. Morven, "I want you to 
write out the story of your life in detail, giving 
it as you might tell it to a stranger. This, for 
two reasons. One is that I feel that our lives 
have, all along, in some important points touched 
and blended and I wish to have at hand the means 
of noting more closely those connections. And 
again, I wish the course of your life before me 
as a means of placing myself in psychological re- 
lation to you, as it were, living over your past life 
along with you." 



a 



Certainly, my dear," I repiled, "But you, of 
course, will favor me with your memoirs in re- 
turn. ' ' 



84 Two In One 



tt 



Assuredly, if you wish." And so the ques- 
tion was settled and hence the preceding pages 
and the following autobiography of my wife. 



it 

li 



CHAPTER V. 

Some time after the preceding conversation, I 
having completed my writing and Mrs. Morven 
having read it, she said: 

"I am somewhat at a loss where to begin my 
story. You have already given the main 
facts of my early life; and let me say that 
you painted me in very bright, if not exaggerated 
colors. ' ' 

No, my dear, not exaggerated.'' 
In your eyes, perhaps not. To continue, then : 
After you left me for college, I was lonely indeed. 
I did not think of love in connection with you, 
but it seemed to me that the light of my life 
had gone out. You would have been surprised 
had you known how I read and reread your oc- 
casional letters, and how I rejoiced at your ad- 
vancement. 

Gradually, as other interests absorbed you, your 
letters came less frequently, and when you began 
preaching, stopped altogether, and our lives 
parted. But Eobert, your image has always, in 
my interior musings and religious experiences, 
been before me as I saw you in your glorified state 
(as I call it) at your conversion. I felt then 



86 Two In One 

as though my being were within yours, and that 
we were one ; and I have always known that our 
lives would, some time, somehow, again merge 
together. 

The years following, up to the time of my mar- 
riage, passed uneventfully, with the exception of 
my first great sorrow, in the death of my mother. 
But death with her was so peaceful, so victorious, 
so manifestly an entering into heavenly joys, that 
my grief at her absence was assuaged by the 
thought of her blessedness. Her spiritual vision 
was opened during her last hours, and she freely 
talked with friends gone before, and gave us 
communications from them. 

I stayed with my father until his second mar- 
riage, three years after the death of my mother; 
and following this, up to my marriage, I was a 
teacher in Auburn Seminary. Then I was united 
to Mr. Clark, and moved with him to the city of 
Rochester, New York, where my husband was 
engaged in merchandising. 

My marriage was a happy one, as marriages go. 
My husband was a true Christian gentleman, a 
prominent business man, of large social influence, 
and a pillar of the church. We lived together 
in the utmost harmony, and there seemed to be 
nothing to mar my happiness. One year after 
our marriage, our son Fred was born, which of 
course was an event that filled my mother's heart 



Two In One 87 

to overflowing with joy. And yet, withal, my 
husband and I were not one. Ours was not a 
union in spirit, but as you term it, a mere symbol 
of such union. 

Now, what shall I say of my religious life dur- 
ing these years? One word will express it — dis- 
content — disappointment. To aim at perfect- 
ness, wholeness, completeness in whatsoever I am 
or do, has been ever a characteristic of mine. I 
carried this idea into religion. The measure of a 
full man in Christ was my aim, and I could rest 
content with nothing less. Hence I put forth 
every effort, and tried every means of attaining 
that end. I read all the books I could get treat- 
ing of complete conscious union with God, such 
as Thomas-a-Kempis, Madame Guyon, Boardman 
on the Higher Life, and practiced rigidly the di- 
rections therein given, but all to no purpose. I 
was seeking such a baptism of the Holy Spirit as 
would free me from temptation, or at least hold me 
effectually against yielding. I could and did, 
in prayer, daily rise into a state of ecstacy, and 
thus for the time soared above all earthly cares. 
But descending from the mount of vision, I would 
find myself again as weak and erring as before, 
and even more so. It seemed that the depres- 
sion below was equal to the elevation above the 
ordinary level. 

One source of hindrance was the far-offness of 



88 Two In One 

God. From my teaching, I had the idea of God 
as situated off an infinite distance in space, be- 
yond the farthest reach of the telescope. I re- 
member a sermon preached by one of our leading 
preachers, at a quarterly conference, which was 
highly commended by the Bishop and all the 
preachers, in which God was thus represented : the 
Son was described as sitting on the right-hand of 
the Father, in some far-off region ; the Holy Spirit 
being the representative of Christ abiding with 
man, it was his office to take the prayer of faith 
and carry it to the Son, who, turning to the 
Father, laid it before Him, and He, by virtue of 
the entreaty of the Son, granted the request, 
which was returned to the Spirit, and thence by 
him answer was given to the waiting believer. 

Now, all this machinery so separated me from 
God as to constitute a bar to real communion. I 
came to see that these ideas are not in accord with 
the teachings of the Scriptures as to the vital 
union, the real identity of the believer with 
Christ, he the vine and they the branches, he the 
head and they the members. Thus, I was in the 
condition of which Paul speaks — chained to a 
body of death from which I vainly sought deliver- 
ance. The Apostle teaches that Christ gives de- 
liverance, but I could not avail myself of his help. 
I grew prematurely gray with the agony of men- 
tal conflict. In looking at that period of my 



Two In One 89 

life, it seems to me that my mind at times was 
partially unbalanced. 

It appeared to me as though the church utterly 
failed to appreciate the teachings of the Scrip- 
ture as to the power of the Gospel to save. As 
I interpreted Christianity, it was a present and 
complete salvation of both soul and body; as 
taught and believed by the church it is a mere 
promise, and in the higher reaches of Christian 
faith and experience, a guarantee — an assurance 
of deliverance after death. 

The consequence of all this was to throw me 
out of harmony with my people, including my 
husband. I was tolerated in the church merely 
because of my husband's position and influence. 
The finale of this period of my life came with my 
husband's business failure, followed by his death. 
At a time of business depression, he was called 
upon to pay a large security debt, and thus was 
forced to go into bankruptcy. The thought of 
the distress coming upon his family, and his sen- 
sitiveness to public opinion, brought upon him a 
fever which ended his life. 

I was left stripped of everything but our resi- 
dence and household goods. My father now in- 
sisted upon my living with him. My life in his 
family was a time of grief, humiliation and 
spiritual darkness. My stepmother was a kind- 
ly-intentioned person, but was of a jealous dis- 



90 Two In One 

position, and for some reason extremely preju- 
diced against me. She resented my becoming an 
inmate of her home. I will only add, in passing, 
that I wonder at the resources with which woman 
is endowed by every word and act, to stab and 
wound and irritate one whom she hates. Cer- 
tainty my stepmother was so eminently endowed 
in this direction that she managed to render all 
around her miserable. Under her endless nag- 
ging and discontent, my father had grown sad 
and worn. This, added to the cares and sor- 
rows brought on him by the character and con- 
duct of my brother, caused his death. 

You remember Jamie, bright, sweet, joyous 
Jamie, my father's pet and mother's idol. My 
father having set his hopes upon him, sought to 
give him a thorough education and looked to see 
him develop into a strong and full-rounded man- 
hood. But he was doomed to disappointment. 
In spite of all the good and wholesome influences 
around him, Jamie turned out to be worse than 
worthless. I suppose it is a case of what 
scientists term " reversion of type, ,: an inher- 
itance from some previous generation. Certainly 
Jamie did not inherit his lack of ambition to be 
or do anything worthy of his powers from his 
immediate parents. Poor Jamie! He seemed to 
be inherently perverted. He said to error, "Be 
thou my truth;" and to evil, "Be thou my 



Two In One 91 

good." He grew to manhood, constantly fight- 
ing against all efforts to train his mind and 
heart upward, and then when freed from parental 
restraint and guidance, gave way altogether to 
his natural bent downward. More than once, 
father was called upon to pay heavy sums on 
paper forged by Jamie for gambling debts, and, 
finally, he was compelled to mortgage his entire 
property to keep his beloved boy from the 
state's prison. This course of Jamie's I sup- 
pose ought to be considered in mitigation of my 
step-mother's bearing toward her husband's 
children. 

Not long after my becoming one of the family, 
my father's health began to decline, and day by 
day he grew weaker until the grave opened to re- 
ceive him. His life went out seemingly only 
because he was disappointed of earthly hopes and 
there was no interest here to hold him longer. 
His last word was "Mother," the name by which 
he always called the wife of his youth. 

Alas ! for Jamie ! Never have I seen any mor- 
tal so utterly crushed as he. He cried out in 
agony, "O, sister, I have killed father. I ha^e 
been devil-possessed and have broken my dear 
father's heart. God, what shall I do? Oh, 
vhat shall I do?" I forgot my own grief in 
the endeavor to comfort my brother. From that 



92 Two In One 

time, Jamie was a changed man, and has since 
lived a life of industry, honor and sobriety. 

About this time, the Christian Science movement 
began its career, and I became interested. Its 
claims to give absolute peace to its votaries, and 
to heal the body in accordance with the commis- 
sion of Christ, appealed to me; and so, I with 
some difficulty got together the means of paying 
the tuition fee and became a member of a class 
taught by Mrs. Eddy. The class was composed 
largely of cultured people, including several 
professional gentlemen. 

We were requested by our teacher to divest our 
minds, as far as possible, of all prepossessions, 
abstain from all discussion of subjects treated 
and wait patiently to the end of the course. 

Her method was not argumentative nor yet 
was it dogmatic. She spoke as one might speak 
who was a herald of truth from the heavens, an- 
nouncing principles as if beheld in prophetic vision. 
The result was that I found myself at the close of 
the course, uplifted into a mental sphere in which 
the entire physical sense realm became as nought, 
and the invisible or spiritual universe as the only 
substance and reality. 

What could not be interpreted in terms of 
Spirit I dismissed as unreality, illusion. In gen- 
eral, my new found faith was condensed in what 
is termed in the Christian Science text book, 



Two In One 93 

Science and Health, "The Scientific Statement of 
Being": "There is no life, truth, intelligence or 
substance in matter (phenomena). All is infinite 
mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All 
in all. Spirit is immortal truth ; matter is mortal 
error. Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is 
unreal and temporal. Spirit is God, and man is 
His image and likeness; hence man is spiritual 
and not material." 

God became to my conception, an all encom- 
passing, all pervading, all loving, Divine Principle 
in whom, now and forever, all humanity have 
ever had life and being; and in whom we have 
now, at each moment only to realize the truth in 
order to enter into all the Divine fullness. 

Man's relation to God became no longer legal, 
but vital; and sin no longer the corruption of 
man's essential being, but only a falling away 
from consciousness of unity with God, the ac- 
cepting of the outward appearance of life-in- 
self and of substance in matter (physical phenom- 
ena) as reality. 

Salvation became to consist of deliverance from 
the thralldom of physical sense, by denial of the 
error and affirming the truth of the spiritual life 
in God with all that is implied therein. 

The relation of the Christ to humanity became 
merely that of the way-shower to eternal life. The 
man Jesus, imbued with the Christ Spirit, ex- 



94 Two In One 

emplified the true spiritual nature of man, the 
substantiality of spirit and the nothingness of all 
sense appearance, demonstrating the truth by his 
triumph over sin, sickness and death. He was 
the Saviour in that he was the great teacher 
working out the problem of existence in and for 
himself and, thereby, becoming an example for 
us to follow. By his method of dealing with 
sin, or error, in his wilderness temptations, he 
illustrated the general law by which all sensuous 
conditions are to be met and overcome, viz.: by 
denying the inflowing evil thoughts as self-gen- 
erated but referring them to Satan, error, mor- 
tal mind, as their source, and affirming our essen- 
tial inherency in God. To my mental vision, 
man in his present state, appeared as if poised 
between the internal heavens of spiritual reality 
and the external, mortal mind realm of sense il- 
lusions. By denying the latter and affirming and 
living with reference to the former, he attains 
eternal life or conscious harmony with the infinite 
Principle of his being. 

Furthermore, the truth of this position and 
method was demonstrated by its results, in the 
way of bodily healing both of myself and others. 

For all this spiritual uplift and peace of mind, 
I was profoundly grateful to her through whom 
these wonderful revelations and deliverances 
came. 



Two In One 95 

Such was the even tenor of my life for several 
years, when I received a brief communication 
from a Rev. Mr. Wise, who had been a member of 
my class. I remembered him as a man of unusual 
mental ability and profound learning. My im- 
pressions of him had been that while he was in- 
terested in the course of thought pursued, he was 
by no means satisfied with the method of treat- 
ment or results. He was writing, he said, to 
all the members of our class with the purpose of 
getting a consensus of our views of Christian 
Science after these years of thought and practical 
experience. I responded accordingly and re- 
quested the favor of his own mental status on the 
subject in return. 

The following is his reply: 

My Dear Mrs. Clark: — 

Your esteemed favor at hand for which accept 
my hearty thanks. I have read your graphic ac- 
count of your mental and spiritual experiences 
with great pleasure and profit. I fear, however, 
that the details of the ongoings of my mind may 
not be so interesting to you as yours were to me ; 
but at your request, I give them. 

First, I would say that with the fundamental 
principles of Christian Science such as those em- 
braced in the "scientific statement of being " 
(when properly understood), I am in perfect ac- 



96 Two In One 

cord. I accept also the Christian Science idea 
of sin as being a mistaking of the seeming of 
life-in-self as real or true, and of the phenomenal 
world of appearance as being substance in and of 
itself; and further, I see that the means of deliv- 
erance from this error consists fundamentally in 
denying the false and affirming the true. But I 
am decidedly at variance with our author in her 
philosophy of the nature and object of this ex- 
ternal realm of physical appearances and of man's 
present state of existence. Indeed, she seems 
to have no clear conception of the nature of our 
mortal existence, whence it comes or what it means. 
At one time, she seems to recognize it as a reality 
and as having a meaning; but at another, she de- 
nies it altogether, going so far as to declare that 
it is an utter illusion, "a dream without a 
dreamer" (whatever that may be), and that so, 
even the Almighty has not nor can have any 
cognizance of our evil and suffering conditions. 

Philosophically, as I apprehend it, there are 
four, and only four ways of conceiving and inter- 
preting the ongoings of nature, viz. : materialism, 
the holding that there is no substance or life but 
in nature 's forces ; dualism, the theory that spirit 
and matter are two distinct substances and thus 
that God is situated somewhere in space outside 
his universe ; negationism, which denies that there 
is any reality or meaning to the outer world of 



Two In One 97 

physical sense, and idealistic realism which 
holds that spirit is the only substance, and that 
the phenomenal world is the visual expression 
of idea forms eternally inherent therein. Our 
author's philosophy, so far as she has any, is 
negationism. Her difficulty seems to lie in con- 
founding the mere fact of the existence of 
the external realm, and of our conscious existence 
therein with the erroneous conception of these 
appearances as being the essential reality. Seeing 
the error of this latter conception, she is driven 
to the utter denial of all reality or meaning to 
physical existence. Putting her theory syllo- 
gistically, it would stand thus : The body is com- 
posed of matter (phenomena) ; but there is no 
matter (phenomena), therefore, there is no body. 

Again: Disease is caused by mortal mind (the 
mind of physical sense) ; but there is no mortal 
mind; therefore, there is no disease. 

But as in order to think at all she must some- 
how recognize this outer existence, and her outer 
self (the natural mind), who is doing the think- 
ing, we find her in all her writings accepting of 
necessity the reality in some sense of the very 
things which she is denying as having any ex- 
istence. So we are led round and round, in- 
volved in a maze of philosophical contradictions. 

Now as to the character and work of our 
^Saviour; are you, my dear sister, thoroughly sat- 



98 Two In One 

isfied with the theory that he was a mere man r 
somehow unusually endowed, and that his rela- 
tion to humanity was only that of a teacher, 
showing us by precept and example, how to work 
out the problem of existence? If this is true, 
then we are all Christs and Saviours in so far 
as we by our examples and teaching show the 
way. And Mrs. Eddy must be held by her fol- 
lowers as, par excellence, the Saviour; since they 
accept her as the final and only authorized in- 
terpreter of all Scripture revelation including, of 
course, the teaching of Christ. 

Now allow me to say that my understanding of 
the Christ as set forth in the gospels, is that 
he was the Divine Word, the eternal Logos, made 
flesh, and that the object of such organization of 
Divinity into our humanity was that through the 
Divine natural humanity thus constituted, there 
might be a radiation of the Holy Spirit into all 
humanity, both the quick and the dead, awaken- 
ing them from their sense-stupor to a conscious- 
ness of their essential and eternal oneness with 
and in God. 

We are told in John's gospel that the Word 
was, in the beginning, with God and was God.. 
This he applies to the man Jesus Christ. Can 
the same be said of any other man? Again,. 
Jesus says of himself, "No man hath ascended up- 
to heaven but he that came down from heaven.. 



Two In One 99 

even the Son of Man who is in heaven." Can 
this be claimed of any other? In his last prayer 
he says, "Thou (Father) in me and I in them." 
Can this be true of a mere man? I know that 
the author's explanation of these scriptural teach- 
ings is that this language was that of the Christ 
Spirit speaking through the lips of the man 
Jesus. Are you satisfied with this explanation? 
What, in this view, can we make of that glorious 
personal appearing to John on the isle of 
Patmos of the risen Son of Man 
who declared himself to be the alpha 
and the omega, the beginning and the end, the 
first and the last, the Almighty, who was dead but 
is alive again, and holds the keys of death and 
hades ? Was this the vision of an impersonal prin- 
ciple ? Was it the Divine Principle who had been 
dead? Does it not appear to you, that Jesus 
the Christ is set forth in God's word as the per- 
sonalization of the Divine Principle in the person 
and form of a man in order to its becoming simi- 
larly personalized through the Christ in all hu- 
manity ? So it appears to me. God as Absolute 
Principle in the sense in which he is set forth in 
Christian Science writings, illustrated by the prin- 
ciple of mathematics or of music, is to my con- 
ception unknowable, unapproachable and unlov- 
able; but as he is revealed in Jesus Christ, the 
gulf is bridged by his becoming personalized with- 

OFC. 



100 Two In One 

in us and thereby eliciting love to God of all the 
soul, heart, mind and strength. But I must for- 
bear. Please pardon what may seem to you my 
harsh critisism of the Christian Science philo- 
sophic setting. I hasten to repeat that I am in 
perfect accord with its essential principles of be- 
nig. My point of difference consists in my con- 
viction that this natural existence is something 
and means something. My effort has been to 
find out what? 

Yours in life, truth and love, 

JOHN A. WISE. 

The following is my response: 

My Dear Mr. Wise : 

Yours received and read with great interest. 

How differently truth appeals to different 
minds. You and I accept the same essential 
verities; but you become mainly intent on their 
scientific and rational aspect, while I am inter- 
ested only in their practical application. I know 
that these teachings are true and I know that 
they may be applied in the amelioration of human 
ills and with that knowledge I am content. I 
accept these truths of being much as I accept 
many things and facts in nature. For example, 
I know that grain planted in the ground will 
grow and produce other grain. Thus knowing, 
without bothering myself about the how, I plant 



Two In One 101 

and gather my harvest accordingly. In the same 
way I have accepted and used the truths of Chris- 
tian Science. I suppose that I shall, some time, 
evolve into that rational, philosophical under- 
standing which has been your quest, but my time 
for that has not come. 

I have to thank you, however, for one idea 
which I feel will be practically fruitful in my 
life. I refer to your enlarged view of the work 
of Jesus Christ. I intuitively perceive that in 
this you are right. I see that he was the way- 
opener as well as the way-shower to conscious- 
ness of union with God in and for our entire 
humanity. But yet I must contend that the en- 
tering upon that way is not, to any soul, condi- 
tioned upon his understanding of how the way 
was opened by the Christ. Through the work 
which Christ performed in the body of our hu- 
manity, the Divine truth can reach all, even those 
who have never heard of Jesus, convincing them 
of sin, righteousness and judgment, and thus veri- 
fying his statement "I, if I be lifted up, (if my 
personal sense-consciousness become one with 
spirit) will draw all men to myself." 

Now as to the personalization of the Infinite 
Spirit of which you speak. I recognize your dif- 
ficulty, but for myself have had no trouble here. 
The personality of Jesus Christ is no aid to me in 
this respect, except as an example. 



102 Two In One 

His own sense of personal realization of God 
was within, and altogether spiritual. He realized 
himself as one with the Father and communed 
with him as His Son. So may we in him. Paul 
came to this consciousness as expressed in his lan- 
guage : ' ' No longer living am I but in me living 
is Christ." Thus the very ego of self may and 
will become the Christ within, so that the "I can 
and I will" of the man becomes consciously the 
I can and I will of God. But not in the sense 
of the Budhistic Nirvana — the utter lapsing into 
the infinite of one's self-conscious individuality. 
In fact, the reverse is true. Paradoxical as it 
may seem, and however little we may be able 
to explain it, the more intense the realization of 
unity with God the more pronounced the sense 
of a selfhood separate from God. My idea is 
that the Logos or Word has eternally been the 
vine and we the branches therein. We have 
only to come to a consciousness in the external 
man of this eternal inherency 

There, now, I find myself, in a measure, con- 
tradicting myself, that is philosophizing about 
the how of Salvation. Well, you are to blame. 
You led me into this line of thought, so I will not 
apologize. 

Wishing you that peace that passeth knowl- 
edge, I am 

Yours in Christian love, MARY CLARK. 



Two In One 103 



c ( i 



There remains little more of my life sketch to 
add. Brother James, on a visit to the East from 
his western home, came to see me and, on his in- 
vitation, I returned with him and have been here 
in San Francisco, since. This was five years ago. 
You and Berta were on board the same train, but 
she being averse to company, we did not meet. 

''How strange," I remarked, "to think that, 
during all these years of preparation and through 
so many vicissitudes and trials, we should all the 
time have been steadily moving toward each other 
to meet as we have done." 

"Yes, the heart of man deviseth his way, but 
the Lord directeth his steps. You will observe 
that my mind has not been exercised with the 
problems which you have been engaged in solv- 
ing. I feel now, however, that I shall be inter- 
ested with and through you in your investiga- 
tions. I shall follow you as my guide." 

"As to that, I replied, "our progress hence- 
forth, in all lines of spiritual understanding and 
development will doubtless be as mutually and 
reciprocally one. The feminine and masculine 
elements will act as one and be suplementary to 
each other. Your experience suggests a very in- 
teresting train of reflection. I mean the differ- 
ence in the point of view and mode of activity be- 
tween the masculine and the feminine mind. You 
have already remarked how differently you and 



104 Two In One 

your correspondent, Mr. Wise, were affected by 
your studies in Christian Science. Again,, 
take ourselves. We have been travel- 
ing toward the same spiritual goal; you 
traversing the pathway of the affections and re- 
ducing your attainments to practical use, while 
I have been toiling along the road of the intel- 
lect making the attainment of truth an end in 
itself. 

We have a still further illustration in the man- 
ner of thought and expression of the Christian 
Science writings and the acceptance which the 
system has met with. It comes through the mind 
and heart of woman, pre-eminently impressed with 
the characteristics of feminine modes of thought 
and finds its most numerous following among 
women. The author intuitively senses spiritual 
truth and its application to life and mental heal- 
ing of the body and is so fully possessed of its 
absolute reality as to be utterly oblivious of any 
inconsistency in negating any and everything 
that appears to be out of harmony therewith. And 
instead of attempting to reduce her knowledge to 
a logical system as man would have done, she at 
once gives herself up to its practical application. 

The great truths of being, though now for the 
first time systematically applied in bodily heal- 
ing, have long been known in the masculine think- 
ing world ; but the matter ended with that knowl- 



Two In One 105 

edge. Over a hundred years ago, a great thinker 
formulated in a single sentence the entire philos- 
ophy or science of the mind's relation to the body 
in the following language : ' ' The mind, by a con- 
stand influx, builds the body concordant and 
synchronous with itself, so that the body, in- 
teriorly considered, is nothing else but the mind 
exteriorly organized for the expression of its be- 
hests.' ' Here we have concisely stated, in the 
relation of mind and body, the rationale of all 
bodily healing by mental states. It follows from 
this statement that any change in the mentality 
registers itself in bodily conditions. This quo- 
tation is only a nugget from a vast mine of 
philosophical truth in the same line of thought by 
the same author. But this, with the rest, has 
been simply stored away in masculine mental 
cabinets as intellectual treasures. But now, in 
the feminine awakening, the same truth comes to 
woman and she breathes into it the breath of life 
for the healing of human ills. 

I look upon Christian Science as a prominent 
and characteristic feature of the general woman 
movement of the present age. It means that the 
influx of Divine life, which is so wonderfully 
stirring and inspiring the heart and mind of 
woman, is seeking expression through the love ele- 
ment in humanity with reference to an advance 



106 Two in One 

of the world to a higher plane of spiritual thought 
and life. It comes with woman's intuitional 
methods of seeing truth as actual, visual realities 
and not as something hypothetical and to be veri- 
fied by logical processes. To be sure, men are 
<30-operating in the propagation of Christian 
Science, but it is only as they are inspired thereto 
and directed by the feminine mind and heart. By 
reason of the seeming logical inharmony of its 
method of presentation with the facts of external 
existence, it is open to the shafts of ridicule of 
those who look no deeper than the surface. But 
( the time draws near when the femi- 
<^/of man and the truth will stand forth cleared of 
_<£ nine spiritual intentions of woman will 
r be wedded to the masculine rationality 
<vftll scientific and philosophic inconsistencies and 
obscurities, just as objects of vision seen through 
the co-ordinate lenses of a stereoscope appear in 
relief and distinctness. Christian Science comes 
as a John the Baptist crying in the Wilderness of 
this sensuous age: "Prepare ye the way for a 
coming understanding and baptism of the Spirit, 
and a consequent personalized Divine indwelling 
Power, the latchet of whose shoes I am unworthy 
to unloose." 

The materialism of the age has about reached 
its limit. It is being weighed in the balance and 



Two In One 107 

found wanting. Its fruits are manifest in the 
present abounding and increasing agnosticism 
which holds to the impossibility of knowing cer- 
tainly anything beyond the sphere of the physical 
senses and which, therefore, reduces all good and 
all success to worldly attainment. The tide of a 
more spiritual method of thought and a truer 
standard of existence has set in. Hence the mod- 
ern psychic movement of which Christian Science 
is a most prominent feature. The day of de- 
cision has come as to whether life and force are 
primarily resident in and the manifestation of, 
spirit, as declared by the Apostle Paul, or in and 
of the outer world of phenomena, as held by mod- 
ern materialism. The church is being challenged 
to show why she does not come into conscious 
relation with the spirit realm of causation and ex- 
ercise its spiritual forces in bodily healing in ac- 
cordance with the commission and command of 
her Master. The question before the church de- 
manding answer is not whether Mrs. Eddy's ne- 
gational methods of dealing with the outer I'ealm 
of existence is in accordance with science and rea- 
son, but whether the foundation principles set 
forth in hers and other writings are a true state- 
ment of the eternal laws of being, and therefore 
the efficient means, as is claimed, for the doing the 



108 Two In One 

works which Christ promised his followers they 
should do and which he commanded them to do. 
Who or what Mrs. Eddy or any other person may 
be, is altogether aside from the point at issue. 



CHAPTER VI. 

It was the custom of Mrs. Morven and myself to 
spend a social evening, weekly, at the residence 
of Mr. Clark. On one of these occasions, Mr. 
Priestly, a Swedenborgian minister, and Mr. Cal- 
vin, pastor of a Presbyterian church in Oakland, 
were invited to meet us. We found them very 
interesting companions, both being persons of po- 
lite address and extensive learning. 

The experiences and romantic meeting of my 
wife and myself having been referred to, Mr. Cal- 
vin, addressing us, said, " Would you object to 
giving a brief outline of your lives? From what 
I have learned, I have become very much inter- 
ested.' ■ 

"I understand, - ' interposed Mr. Priestly, "that 
Mr. and Mrs. Morven have written out their ex- 
periences in full. I would suggest that they 
favor us by reading such portions of their writing 
as may be agreeable to them. I am sure it would 
prove profitable as well as interesting to all." 

On consultation with my wife, we agreed to 
read portions of our life sketches as requested, 
stipulating that no comments should be made 
thereon or questions asked during the reading. So 



110 Two In One 

an evening was fixed upon for the first install- 
ment and was consumed by the reading of my 
paper. 

At the close of Mrs. Morven's reading at the fol- 
lowing meeting, a long and awkward silence en- 
sued. At length, Mr. Calvin, who had given the 
most earnest attention, with a serio-comic air, 
said, "Well, your experiences have certainly been 
very remarkable, and your theological specula- 
tions are very extraordinary. If we could go 
back a few years I should at once move to have 
you both tried for heresy. If the hour were not 
so late, I should like to challenge some of your 
positions, or at least have you present some of 
your views more fully.' ' 

It was decided that we should again meet on 
the following Wednesday evening, and that 
"God" should be the subject for discussion, I 
leading, on which occasion the following was 

MY ADDRESS: 



1 1 



I take it that the task assigned me is a brief 
statement of the essential features of my subject, 
as a means of getting it fairly before us for dis- 
cussion. I shall therefore treat it briefly, and in 
the most general way. 

What I have to say may be comprised under 
three divisions, viz., The Allness, the Duality, and 
the Personality of God. 



Two In One 111 

First, God is the All-in-all. He is the All of 
life, substance, intelligence, power and reality in 
the universe. There is actually naught but God. 
That is, all is God, either in substance or in mani- 
festation. All creation is the one Infinite Life 
and Power displaying or revealing itself. The 
forces of the inorganic world — light, heat, gravi- 
tation, electricity, magnetism, cohesion, chemical 
affinity, as well as the life of the plant, the animal 
and man, are naught else than the one central, 
absolute Force and Life manifesting itself in 
these various modes and forms. They are the 
Divine thought objectified — made visible. 

The time was when there was no time — when 
our solar system (and the same may be said of 
all others) was not in existence, and hence what 
we call time, viz.: the progressions of the sea- 
sons, and the succession of day and night by 
which time is indicated, was not. What was? — 
<X)D? 

Then came the time (if we may so speak) when 
the solar system, the sun with its revolving plan- 
ets, apepared. "God spake, and it was done; He 
commanded, and it stood fast." He said, "Let 
there be light," and light was. Whatever sub- 
stance or life this creation involved or implied 
could be no other than that of the one and only 
substance. All this outer display could be no 
other than God in expression. If we imagine 



112 Two In One 

matter as substance, discreted from the one prime 
source, still its existence can be only the life and 
principle within them. 

If we say (which is the truth) that all phe- 
nomena are forms for the receiving and manifest- 
ing of the Infinite Life, yet those very forms must 
be no less of the Infinite Life than the animating 
principle within them. 

In fact, there is no way of conceiving anything 
else than God in the universe, but by assuming 
that what we call matter has ever existed and is 
not a creation of God. 

Science has latterly come to our aid in getting 
at this truth. As God is One, so all manifesta- 
tions of Himself are One, and are so interrelated 
that a knowledge of one part or department of 
such manifestation is an aid to the understanding 
of others. God has given a revelation of Himself 
in the external world as well as in man. The one 
revelation is objective and the other subjective. 
They must and do correspond to each other. If 
God is the All, and Nature is a revelation of him, 
then the objective universe in its laws, facts and 
forces, must show forth this universal truth. And 
so it does. 

Science has, by analysis, stepped up from the 
mineral matters of the earth, through the suc- 
cessive forces of the so-called chemical atoms, 
electricity, light and heat and the ether of the 



Two In One 113 

sun, and arrived at the postulate of an Infinite 
Energy as the prime source and cause of all, the 
phenomenal universe being an effect of this Su- 
preme Cause. There is not, nor can be, any other 
cause of anything. Its first expressions are the 
suns of the universe. The solar forces, by a 
law which scientists term the law of correlation, 
become light and heat within the atmosphere of 
the planets, these again by the same law becoming 
electricity, which in turn is transformed into the 
chemical forces, and these finally are ultimated 
into the so-called solid matters of the planets. 

Thus there is a regular chain of descent from 
the primal force outward. Conceive for a mo- 
ment the cessation of the outflow from this cen- 
tral source and there would be a blank in crea- 
tion, just as shutting off the current at the dy- 
namo leaves a city in darkness. 

Hence it follows that what we call matter is, 
as scientists declare, only force. There is no sub- 
stance underlying it. It is merely force acting 
so and so. And further, it follows that from the 
sun to the atom, these forces of nature are in 
reality only the forces of the Infinite Energy so 
and so expressing themselves. The same is true 
of the life of all organisms, from the vegetable 
nip to man. Hence this Infinite Energy of the 
scientists is the All-in-all of existence. 

Now, we have only to endue 'this Infinite En- 



114 Two In One 

ergy with the attributes of love, intelligence and 
will, to identify it with what religion terms the 
Heavenly Father, in whom we live, move and have 
being. 

If need be, we might reason further from the 
data afforded by science, thus : God is the cause ; 
all nature is the effect. The effect must bear the 
lineaments of its cause. In fact, it is the ex- 
pression of the cause, and can have nothing in it 
which the cause has not. Man is the crowning 
effect in nature. 

Whatever are the essential qualities in man 
must be an impartation of God to him ; or rather, 
as man's life is the very life of God in him, we 
may reason back from the constitution of man to 
the being of God. But man is constituted of the 
faculties of love, thought and will. If these 
powers are the expression of God's life in him, 
then his Creator is Infinite Love, Wisdom and 
Power. The following quotation from a promi- 
nent writer is pertinent in this connection: 

1 ' Nature is dual. There is male and female, pos- 
itive and negative, right and left, action and re- 
action, in everything. But Nature is the off- 
spring of God, therefore God is also dual. Two 
things constitute the Divine: these are Love and 
Wisdom. All the attributes that theologians 
usually ascribe to God are attributes of these. 
Is infinity an attribute of God? Eternity? Om- 



Two In One 115 

nipotence? Immutability? Purity? Unity? Love 
and Wisdom are all these. But love and wis- 
dom are more than attributes of God; they are 
God. God is love. That love is substance — the 
one eternal substance of the universe; and that 
substance has form; and that form is wisdom. 
Wisdom is the quality, the expression, the Logos, 
the word, of Love. * * * Divine Love is the 
origin of all life; yea, it is itself the life and the 
only life. Love or life flowing out from God, 
flows into all the planes of the spiritual universe 
with vibrations inconceivable; and proceeding 
downward and outward, into the realm of na- 
ture, it assumes the form of magnetic and electric 
forces, vibrating, whirling and collecting in cen- 
ters of force, thus filling the deep spaces of dark- 
ness with radiant light. The intense solar radia- 
tions are possible only by virtue of the mighty 
spiritual forces flowing into them from Divine 
Love, directed and qualified by Divine Wisdom. 
From the vitalizing breath of Divine Love and 
Wisdom, the suns give birth to planets, and these 
in turn bring forth an infinite variety of mani- 
festations of life along an ascending scale from 
mineral to man. * * * The natural suns are 
correspondents of the spiritual sun (the Divine 
Love as it appears to the angels). On the physical 
plane, they appear to be many, and separated by 
immense distances; but the spiritual sun from 



116 Two In One 

which they draw their vitality is one. It is inde- 
pendent of space, and yet flows into all space. It 
makes no account of distances; for above the 
plane of matter there are no distances as we ac- 
count distance. The physical suns are dual, con- 
sisting of heat and light, because the spiritual sun 
is dual, consisting of love and wisdom. Heat 
on the physical plane is analogous to love on the 
spiritual plane, and light on the physical plane 
is analogous to wisdom on the spiritual plane.' ' 
I now raise the question as to the personality of 
the Divine Being. It may be inferred that the 
foregoing considerations settle the question, on 
the ground that the attributes of love, intelligence 
and will constitute personality ; and that these be- 
ing infinitely inherent in God we must ascribe to 
Him infinite personality. But does not infinite 
person imply a contradiction in terms? What does 
the word person mean? Is not limitation im- 
plied in the very nature of the term? Can we 
think of a person without the idea of limitation? 
To avoid this confusion of thought, and the 
danger of thinking of God as finite, would it not 
be better to use some other term? The word 
human, or man, is less objectionable. God is the 
Absolute Man. He is Love, Wisdom, and Power. 
Man is a form receptive of these inflowing Divine 
forces, and by reason thereof is human, or man. 
God's infinite human becomes finited in man. Man 



Two In One 117 

is man, because God is the Supreme Man, the 
Maximus Homo of Swedenborg. 

The question is pertinent here : If the being an 
organic form receptive of the Divine life consti- 
tutes man, why is not the same true of vegetable 
and animal forms ? The answer is that man alone 
is endowed with the capacity to perceive the 
source of his life, to reciprocate the Divine love, 
and thereby to come into conscious unity with 
God. The supernal life flows into and through 
the animal, manifesting itself according to the 
form somewhat as the wind blowing affects the 
aeolian harp. All below man are in their degree 
images of their Creator, but are only adumbra- 
tions of man, the perfect image. 

It is because of man's ability to appropriate 
God's life, that his individual form is permanent, 
or as the term is, immortal. The brute has no 
such power, and so its existence as an individual 
form ceases with the dissolution of the body. Man 
is endowed with capacities by which he can so 
apprehend the source of his life as to become one 
in consciousness therewith, and thus perpetuate 
his individual consciousness and character beyond 
the dissolution of the organic form of the material 
body. Consciousness of God as the life is the 
law of permanency. The soul of man is so con- 
stituted that within the deepest ground of its be- 
ing, under all conditions, it is so receptive of the 



118 Two In One 

Divine inflowing as not to be able to divest itself 
utterly of the sense of a Supreme Being. An 
atheist, in the full meaning of the term, never was 
nor can be. 

Now, one word as to the practical importance of 
our theme. Christ said, "This is eternal life, to 
know Thee, the only true (real) God, and Jesus 
Christ (God in the natural degree of hnmanity), 
whom thou hast sent. The knowledge of God 
here referred to is a conscious realization of God 
as the very life of our lives, the very soul of our 
souls, the very being of ourselves. It is the 
knowledge of God as being our real higher selves. 
But the thought of our relation to God merely 
as an external personality is a bar to this con- 
scious oneness of which Christ speaks, — "I in 
Thee, and Thou in me." 

The Lord said that it was expedient that he go 
away and thus remove from his disciples his per- 
sonal form as the object of their contemplation 
and adoration, in order that they might realize 
God as their inmost life, as the Comforter which 
should abide with them and in them. Christ's 
work as Saviour had been to remove obstructions, 
deliver the human mind from the thralldom of the 
devil, and so to bring man into rapport with the 
Heavenly Father, that all might come into con- 
scious unity with him as their indwelling life. He 
is the vine, of which we are branches; the head, 



Two In One 119 

of which we are the members. The Apostle Paul 
expressed the vital truth of the matter in the 
language, "Henceforth know we no man after the 
flesh; yea, though we have known Christ after 
the flesh, yet now know we him no more;'* and 
again, "No longer living am I, but in me living is 
Christ.' ' 

In order to think properly of God and spiritual 
things, three things must be eliminated from our 
thought, viz. :What is of space, what is of time, 
and what is of person. If we think of God as a 
person we think of him as having stature, local 
dimensions, and habitation. And if we think of 
him as occupying space, or subject to time, we 
think of him as person. To be sure, we may 
think of him as filling all space, but in that case 
our idea is that the very essence of his being is 
material, and every manifestation of God in so 
far, is God. From this kind of thought origin- 
ated idolatry, in which the heavenly bodies and 
animals became subjects of worship. The same 
cult is today leading to an obliteration of all dis- 
tinction between good and evil among its votaries. 
It was this error at which the second Command- 
ment was leveled, — "Thou shalt not make upto 
thee any graven image, or any likeness of any- 
thing in the heavens above, or upon the earth 
beneath, or in the waters under the earth.' ' The 
meaning is that we must not have in the mind 



120 Two In One 

any mental picture of the Infinite One, thus giv- 
ing the idea of limitation. But if we think of 
him in any other way than as the essence and 
principle of all things, as Love and Wisdom, we 
violate this command, we erect an image and 
worship it. 

This closes my writing. So brief a survey 
must, of course, be lacking in fullness and clear- 
ness. I should be pleased, by way of explana- 
tion, to answer any questions, as far as I may be 
able." 

"That matter of the Divine personality is a 
very vital one to me," said Mr. Calvin. "I would 
like to ask a question or two on that subject. Who 
was Jesus Christ?" 

"He was the Word made flesh." 

"Was He Divine?" 

"He was God manifest in the flesh. In Him 
dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 

"Was he a person?" 

"He was." 

"Then, thinking of Him as God, do we not 
think of God as a person?" 

"Doubtless many do. But is not the deifica- 
tion of the man Jesus, in the thought, the en- 
throning of a finite being as the God of the uni- 
verse? To see the true God in Jesus Christ we 
should, I think, regard that historic person as 
only the visible type-appearance or symbol. He 



Two In One 121 

was the visible manifestation to us of God's hu- 
manity — not of a personality. He was man, 
certainly, or he would not have been God. He 
was the Supreme Humanity in finite expression. 
But to localize and spatialize the being or es- 
sence of God in that finite form is surely a limit- 
ation. ' ' 

"Is not our love for Christ and God, the love of 
person V 9 

"I think not. We do not love the form, but 
the good proceeding from Him. We should think 
of God as essentially Divine Love and Wisdom — 
as Principle — as the life of all things; and of 
Christ, the Son of God, as that Divine essence ob- 
jectified to the human vision in human form. 
Such thought brings the realization that our true 
internal self is an individualization of this eternal 
principle (objectified in Christ) and thus the en- 
tire soul, heart, mind and strength become con- 
centrated upon our Heavenly Father in one su- 
preme love. With the thought of God as per- 
sonal, and therefore external, such love is impos- 
sible. ,, 

In John's Gospel we read, "In the beginning 
was the Word (Logos) and the Word was with 
God and the Word was God." And again, "The 
Word was made flesh. " If man has, as a spirit- 
ual being, had existence in the Word from 
eternity (as I am profoundly convinced is the 



122 Two In One 

truth) then each individual has been eternally as 
a branch of the Vine. The Logos is the Infinite 
man in whom has eternally inhered all individual 
men, at least as germinal ideas, having in them- 
selves the potentiality of becoming personalized 
as self-conscious individuals. 

Here, in this world of nature, they take on 
such personal existence. Now, what can be meant 
by the Supreme Word as a whole becoming thus 
personalized? We can have no other conception 
of it than that of a universal influx of Divine life 
into the race as a body and its focalization in the 
form of a human being. 

Such I apprehend was Christ Jesus. From and 
through this Divinized or glorified personality, 
radiates the Divine Spirit of Truth awakening the 
natural mind into consciousness of the real and 
eternal self as a branch in the vine, and so Christ 
becomes Divinity personalized to the conscious- 
ness of every one that receives him ; as the Apostle 
writes, he gives them power to become Sons of God. 

"Mr. Morven's paper,' ' said Mr. Clark, "sug- 
gests a number of questions of interest to me re- 
lating to God, man and creation, all of which are 
so interrelated that one cannot be understood but 
in the light of the others. 

I suggest that we meet again next Wednesday 
evening and that he give us his views on the sub- 
ject of Creation." 



CHAPTER VII. 

God is the All. This truth is fundamental to 
all true thought. 

Creation is a manifestation of God — a going 
out of the Divine into visible form. The object 
of creation is the bringing into being moral in- 
telligences who shall, by the knowledge of their 
Creator and by reciprocation of His love, become 
consciously one with him and enjoy the fullness 
of His life. 

The method of doing this is visually manifest 
in the sun, the planet on which we live, and the 
mode of man's birth and life development. The 
sun is the central source of all life and force upon 
the earth. Blot out the sun and the earth with 
all appertaining to it would in a moment cease 
to be. 

Man comes into existence by man, and thus each 
generation flows out from the womb of the pre- 
ceding in one constant, ever during stream. 

As we look abroad from our earth habitation, 
we see on all sides innumerable bright, scintil- 
lating objects, of whose character, distance and 
purpose the eye tells us nothing. But science 
assures us that these glittering points, which we 



124 Two In One 

call stars, are in fact other suns, stretching away 
to depths in space inconceivable. Science has 
learned that the laws of Nature are uniform ; and 
hence we must conclude that what we can see and 
know here in our little planet, of physical exist- 
ence in its ongoings and purposes, is a miniature 
representation of the entire universe. 

The stars, like our sun, are centers of solar 
systems. Planets revolve around these suns and 
on these planets are born intelligent beings, who, 
through the revelation of God in the phenomenal 
world around them and through direct conscious- 
ness of God in them, grow into a Divine manhood, 
fashioned in the image and likeness of the In- 
finite Father. 

In our finite way of thinking, we are com- 
pelled to postulate a spiritual center to the uni- 
verse — a point of life and force radiation, bearing 
a relation to all creation similar to that of the 
sun to the planets. We may term this the spir- 
itual sun. All things in creation must bear the 
image of their Divine source, and hence the first 
expressions of God on the plane of creation are 
the central suns with their attendant planets. 

The law of the formation of these solar sys- 
tems, termed cosmology, perhaps we may not fully 
comprehend. But the knowledge we have of the 
interior forces of nature in the production of light 
and heat, of sound, of electricity, etc., afford a 



Two In One 125 

probable clue, following which we shall not go far 
estray. 

Professor Bixby says, "Scientific research, in 
these recent years, has disclosed to us sounds that 
we cannot hear, odors we cannot smell, light and 
various physical energies to which we are in- 
sensible, yet which by their indirect action and 
effects compel us as reasonable beings to recog- 
nize their existence. ,, 

These and other phenomena find their explana- 
tion only in the assumption of the undulations of 
a medium of wonderful qualities universally per- 
vading space, called ether. It is infinitely more 
subtle than the thinnest gas, and yet has the prop- 
erties of a solid, is infinitely elastic, has a pressure 
millions of times that of gravity, and its mag- 
nitude is commensurate with all space. In this 
ether ocean the physical universe is immersed. 

Whence this all-pervading, wonderful ether? 
The answer is, from the Divine center. It is the 
first Divine manifestation, and is the first step 
toward creation. Every known fact and law 
goes to prove that the suns are merely this ether 
concentrated or focalized. 

First, the sun's undiminished and undiminish- 
ing supply of force, or of light and heat, cannot 
be accounted for otherwise than by the assump- 
tion of a constant efflux from the fountain of In- 
finite Energy underlying all phenomena. 



126 Two In One 

The idea that the sun is a great ball of fire, fed 
by outside falling material, and radiating its heat 
and light as an incandescent body is altogether 
untenable, if not absurd. 

Second, we have already seen that science has 
traced the several forces of nature, from the min- 
eral up to the sun, as an ascending series of trans- 
formations, beneath and beyond which is the In- 
finite Energy, the source of all things. The out- 
going force of the sun is not light and heat as 
such, but a force which within the earthly atmos- 
phere becomes light and heat. This is proved 
by the fact that all space outside the earth's 
atmosphere is absolute cold and darkness, and by 
the fact that the denser the atmosphere the 
greater the heat. 

Third, new matters are continually being formed 
within our earth's atmosphere by the change of 
light and heat into electricity, this into the chem- 
ical elements, and these into the solid substances 
of the globe. 

Now, by the old adage, "from one, learn all," 
we can, from this matter formation on a small 
scale, reason to the larger. If the sun is a focal 
center of radiating energy which by transforma- 
tion becomes forces and concreted substances of 
the earth, then why may we not — yea, why must 
we not, if God's laws are uniform — conclude that 



Two In One 127 

the entire body of his various attendant planets 
were formed in like manner? 

Then, to recapitulate, we must conceive of the 
physical universe as flowing out from an Infinite 
center of spiritual force, which may be imaged 
to our finite minds as a central sun. But we 
should remember that as spirit is not limited by 
spatial conditions, this Infinite spiritual center is 
not located in space. Its center is everywhere, 
and its circumference nowhere. The all of the 
Infinite is as much in the tiny atom as in the uni- 
verse — is as complete in an individual as in the 
sum of all individuals. 

Radiating from this center and pervading all 
space and all things, is a luminous ether, which 
we may venture to term pure force. By concen- 
tration this becomes solar centers, and thence by 
radiation and by the law of correlation the forces 
of this prime atmosphere are changed into suc- 
cessive atmospheres of light and heat, electricity, 
chemical force, and lastly, is concreted into the 
solid substances of the planet, which we term 
matter. And here on this outmost and lowest 
plane man emerges into existence as a self-con- 
scious individuality. 

But let us go a step further back, and ask by what 
law did and does this prime ether force become 
convergent into a focus and thence evolve its 
planets, inhabited by organic life? The answer 



128 Two In One 

is found in the law of evolution. By this I mean 
the Infinite One evolving into individual expres- 
sions of Himself, with the consequent and cor- 
respondent external visible forms and physical 
conditions incident to such individual existences 
as seen in the physical universe. These individ- 
ualities are man. All creation from the begin- 
ning looked to this result of a being in God's 
image and likeness. Man is composed of spirit, 
soul and body, or, in the original Biblical termin- 
ology, pneuma, psuke and soma. As used in the 
Bible these terms have a definite sense, and are 
never interchangeable. Pneuma, or spirit, is of 
the essence of Deity, and therefore uncreate and 
eternal. As spirit, man always was in and of 
God, if not as a self-conscious individual, unques- 
tionably as a germinal personality with the ca- 
pacity of development through birth into time and 
space conditions, into actual personality. By 
birth, the waiting spiritual form takes to itself a 
seemingly independent self-existence in which the 
Divine life becomes, to self-consciousness, its very 
own. At first, it is but a bundle of capacities. 
But by the action of the external world its senses 
are awakened to action ; thence it takes on knowl- 
edge of its relations to the facts and laws of the 
outside world, of things and persons, finally grow- 
ing into consciousness of its life and home in God, 
and by voluntary reception of His life becoming 



Two In One 129 

one with the Infinite life. Thus the object of 
creation is attained, viz., a personalized expres- 
sion of God, an individualization of the Infinite 
One, the Word made flesh. 

Individual development is an epitome of the en- 
tire cosmic evolution. The evolution of a solar 
system from the first focalizing of the ether forces 
into a central sun, and the formation of the 
chaotic matters of the planets with their aggre- 
gation into solid bodies, and thence the outbirth 
of vegetation and animal life, on up to the point 
where man steps forth as an individual to be the 
conscious lord of creation — the entire process 
through all this long series of aeons is simply 
that of a solar humanity inherent in God from 
eternity, evoldving toward individualization. As 
the life of the individual commences with a germ 
and through successive stages organizes a body, 
then after birth advances step by step from blank 
nothingness to a Divine manhood, so the entire 
solar humanity, of which the individual is a part, 
began its evolution in the germ of a central sun, 
and advanced step by step in its enfoldment. 
Thus, then, it is manifest that all the physical 
phenomena of worlds and systems of worlds are 
but the outbirthed appearance of spirit coming to 
itself in the form of personalities. 

If, as we have already seen, all substance is 
spirit, then all appearances in Nature are but 



130 Two In One 

spirit making itself visible or somehow manifest. 
Where there is no humanity there can be no suns 
or planets. To ask if a world is inhabited is as 
rational as to ask if a human body which we see 
walking about is inhabited by a soul. Just as 
the individual soul and body is the externaliza- 
tion of the spirit, so a world is the manifestation 
of an entire planetary humanity ; and a solar sys- 
tem, of a band or family of related humanities. 

Then we must conceive of our race and of the 
dwellers upon the several orbs constituting our 
solar system, first as eternal spiritual existences in 
God — thence in the process of the universe un- 
foldment, of their being pushed out to undergo 
the evolutionary processes already noted, and 
thus taking their place in the community of solar 
humanities that stretch throughout space. This is 
what we mean by creation — not the bringing into 
existence of a substance or substances not pre- 
viously existing, but the bringing of the types and 
ideas eternally inherent in God into actual em- 
bodiment as moral intelligences. The method of 
doing this, as we see, is that of planting the spirit- 
ual germ in the soil of time and space appear- 
ances, and the giving it a life seemingly self-in- 
herent. 

So far as we can see or conceive, the being thus 
born into a sense world with things and persons 
objective to us, and the seeming of the life within 



Two In One 131 

as self-produced, is the only way in which a self- 
hood can be engendered, and thus the spirit be- 
come a self-conscious individual. God's method 
of bringing our humanity into existence is doubt- 
less the law of all existence, whether of men or 
angels. Doubtless all created beings came into 
existence through the gate of birth. All appear- 
ances and ongoings in Nature are, as already 
noted, simply God manifesting Himself so and so. 
The evolutionary processes of gradual unfoldment 
from the monad to man have not been the work- 
ing of blind force through Darwin's hypothetical 
laws of the survival of the fittest, adaptation to 
environment, and others, but are the effects of 
the Infinite Intelligence operating toward a defi- 
nite and predetermined end." 

' ' May I ask your authority for your theory that 
man is spirit, sould and body, and that the spirit 
of man is essentially Divine"?" said Mr. Calvin. 

The Bible, in so far as it rests on authority. Paul 
teaches it, and everywhere the Bible uses those 
terms with the definite signification I have given 
them. An examination of the Greek words, 
pneuma, psyche and soma in their connection, will 
convince you. 

Again, there is a complete system of psychology 
in the construction of the tabernacle and temple. 
The three courts — outer, middle and inner — sym- 
bolized the body, soul and spirit. The inner, or 



132 Two In One 

Holy of Holies, is the spirit, the interior degree of 
man where God dwells evermore, or rather where 
evermore he is in God. The way to a conscious- 
ness of this Divine realm in his nature was closed 
by evil, and Christ came to reopen it. Hence, at 
His crucifixion the veil of the temple was rent. 
Now, the way is opened, and the Divine life in 
fullness may be received by whomsoever will 
come." 

"Does not this idea of man in God imply the 
final salvation of all?" 

"It is open to that objection. But when prop- 
erly interpreted, I think the same objection lies 
against the Bible. In the end, the Son, having 
cast out Satan, is to surrender the keys of power 
to the Father and God is to be ALL-IN-ALL. This 
can mean nothing less than that each and every in- 
dividual shall realize God as the All of his life. 
This is the object of creation, and of course we 
cannot conceive of Infinite Love, Wisdom and 
Power failing in its purposes. Any outcome other 
than this must be only apparent, not the real, 
truth/ ' 

"I do not get clearly your distinction, if you 
make any, between God and man. If man is the 
Divine individualized, is not man and God one and 
the same?" 

1 1 Man as spirit is in and of God, but as a person 
he is spirit so discreted in consciousness from the 



Two In One 133 

Infinite as to possess a separate and distinct ex- 
istence and to think, feel and act freely from the 
ground of an own distinct selfhood. From this 
personal consciousness, he stands related to his 
Creator as entirely other than God. And even 
when he arrives at unity with God, which is the 
goal of his being, and can say as Christ did, "I 
and the Father are One, ' his celf-consciousness and 
separateness as an individual only become the 
more strongly accentuated. The loss of the in- 
dividual consciousness in the Infinite, as taught by 
Buddhists in the doctrine of Nirvana, is exactly 
the reverse of the truth.' ' 

Wherein, then, does Christ differ from man?" 
I should say that the difference is quantita- 
tive rather than qualitative. Christ was the 
descent of the Divine into a human soul and body 
with such power as to overcome all opposition of 
evil, thus transforming his outer man into har- 
mony with spirit, thereby rendering it a medium 
for the full indwelling of Divine power, and the 
center of radiation of the Divine into the entire 
mass of our humanity on earth, in heaven and in 
hell. It was as leaven placed in the lump for 
the leavening of the whole." 

"Well, what about Christ's having no earthly 
father? Doesn't that differentiate Him from all 
other men?" 

"Yes, it does. But the difference thus indicated 






134 Two In One 

does not mean an essential difference as to His 
nature in God. In both, existence consists in the 
descent of spirit into personal consciousness. In 
man the descent is primarily through the inter- 
vention of an earthly father; in Christ it was di- 
rectly into the feminine without such masculine 
mediation. We must suppose that the manner of 
His birth was the means by which the Divine in 
Him so connected itself with His personal con- 
sciousness as to manifest itself to an extent be- 
yond that in others. 

The charge is made that the manner of His birth 
is a lusus naturae not according to law and, there- 
fore, not credible. But in a deeper, broader 
sense, His birth is in accordance with law. From 
the mineral, each step upward comes into existence 
by the same law as that of Christ's birth, viz., by 
means of a natural motherhood and a Divine 
fatherhood. To start with, the mineral is the 
mother-womb of the vegetable, and the organic 
life flowing from the Infinite Fountain of life was 
the generating principle. Likewise the animal on 
the maternal side sprang from the vegetable and 
mineral, but the psychic germ came from the 
Divine inflowing. And finally man came forth, 
all lower nature being his mother, and God his 
Father. 

Here we have a series of steps upward, each 
inaugurated by a supernal generation with no 



Two In One 135 

earthly paternal medium between the natural 
matrix and the Divine generating principle. The 
only question here arising is, does man as a 
rational animal, such as he appears at birth, close 
the series? The Bible says no. Hundreds of years 
before Christ, the prophet wrote, "A virgin shall 
bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, 
God with us." In due time such prophecy was 
declared fulfilled in the child Jesus, who by his 
remarkable life perfectly manifested the character 
of a God-man — on the one side wholly human, on 
the other completely Divine, and the elements so 
shading off into each other as to render the line of 
demarcation imperceptible to the human vision. 
He is the beginning of a series of new kind of man 
spiritually, born out of the old rational man, and 
is going on to perpetuate his like, just as does the 
vegetable born from the mineral, the animal from 
the vegetable and man from all below. Each was 
a distinct step upward, and each by natural gen- 
eration produced after its kind. Instead, there- 
fore, of Christ 's birth being contrary to law, it is 
the antitype of which all creation below were the 
types. 

The ascent from the natural to the spiritual 
man, of which Christ was the " first fruits," is 
the end to which Nature's evolution looked, and 
is the explanation of the whole. Here, in a re- 



136 Two In One 

markable way, the written Word and the Book of 
Nature verify each other." 

" Suppose man had kept his first estate — had 
not sinned?" 

"Then the outer man of the individual would, 
just as now, have formed the matrix for the in- 
coming of a spiritual man. ' ' 

"Then Christ's work was a removal of the ob- 
stacles interposed by the lapse of the race into 
evil, and the placing of man in such relations with 
God as to attain the end originally designed?" 

' ' Yes, such was his work so far as relates to our 
race. But we must ever remember that this re- 
demption and regeneration of our race by the Di- 
vine incarnation in the Christ had as its ulterior 
end the manifestation of God to the entire uni- 
verse. Christ came to rectify man's fall ; but the 
fall was not a marplot, but must be regarded as 
taking place in harmony with the universal econ- 
omy. ' ' 

"Do you mean to say, that evil was part of 
God's design in creation?" 

"Pardon me," interposed Mr. Priestly, "is not 
this rather too large a subject to enter upon to- 
night? I should like more time for it than we 
can afford now." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

At our next meeting, I continued : 

"Evil is, I believe, the subject immediately be- 
fore us. In the treatment of this subject, I 
would like to turn questioner and have others 
answer. I will ask Mr. Calvin, first, what is evil ? ' ' 

1 ' It is sin ; and sin, we are told, is the transgres- 
sion of the law. ' ' 

"Yes, or another way of expressing it would 
be, lack of harmony with law. And law means 
the orderly sequence of cause and effect. All 
existence must be a series of effects, whether that 
existence be subjective or objective — of man or 
nature; and those effects take place through the 
orderly operation of the Infinite cause underlying 
them. Law binds all creation into one harmoni- 
ous unity, from the atom to the angel — and to 
God. 

Now, the well-being of every creature is found 
in its harmony with the laws of its relation to 
its surroundings or environment. The environ- 
ment of the fish is the water; that of the bird is 
the air, and so on. Place the fish in the air, or 
the bird in the water, and death would ensue. 

We have only to ask, what is the law of man's 



138 Two In One 

being, harmony with which is life, and disharmony 
with which is death? Christ gives the law as 
love of God and man. "Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy soul, with all thy mind, 
and with all thy strength, and thy neighbor as 
thyself." If a man love God supremely, and his 
neighbor as himself, can he be otherwise than 
blessed, or, as the terms is, saved?" 

"No." 

"And in so far as he does not so love God and 
man, is he not out of harmony with his true en- 
vironment, like a fish out of water, and must he 
not suffer?" 

"Assuredly." 

"In order to such love of the Creator and man 
must there not be a realization of God as the life, 
and of the unity of all men in Him, God thus be- 
coming the Supreme Self, the very life of our 
lives, and the neighbor only another self?" 

"I accept this as a true statement." 

"Then is not evil the non-recognition of God 
as the life, and the confirming as reality the 
sensuous appearance of life as of self, and the con- 
sequent engendering of self-love, and the looking 
to the gratification of the senses and bodily ap- 
petites as the chief good? Is not this the mean- 
ing of the eating of the tree of the knowledge of 
good and evil, and of the tempter's statement to 
Eve, "Ye shall be as God?" 



Two In One 139 






tt 



I see all this to be true." 

Then evil may be denned as an illusion, a mis- 
taking of sense appearances as the absolute 
reality/ ' 

In theosophical thought/ ' said Mr. Clark, 
evil inheres in the very nature of physical sense, 
and hence to get rid of it we must get rid of the 
so-called natural mind. ,, 

'Yes, that is a poisonous exotic transplanted 
into the garden of our western so-called new 
thought, from the hot bed of eastern mysticism. 
The truth is, the natural mind of physical sense 
is simply an outer plane of consciousness of the 
spiritual man, and is no more essentially evil than 
is the spiritual. Its design is to afford a basis 
for the building up of an external, spiritual self- 
hood. The evil, as already stated, consists in 
mistaking its true character; and all suffering is 
only the consequence of this error. ' ' 

"But/' interposed Mr. Priestly, "how about the 
suffering of innocent children? How about those 
upheavals in nature visiting death and calamity 
upon all alike? In the first place, nature, as I 
must believe, is but the mode of the operation of 
the Infinite Principle of Life and Love. But this 
infinite source of things is essential harmony; 
then how account for its disorderly expressions in 
nature, such as earthquakes and cyclones? And 
again, the law of justice demands that suffering 



140 Two In One 

should exist only as the result of the voluntary 
disobedience of an intelligent, free, moral agent; 
and love demands that even so. his suffering must 
have for its object the reclamation of the evil 
doer. In the realm of Infinite Justice and Love, 
pain can originate from no other source than lack 
of harmony with the law of those who suffer, and 
can have no other object than restoration to har- 
mony. Therefore, all infliction of pain upon 
those who have not sinned or who are not some- 
how involved in a state of moral disorder, we must 
classify as cruelty.' ' 

"Your statements, I think, cannot be success- 
fully controverted, ' ' I replied. "It follows that 
the suffering of a humanity as a whole such as 
prevails in our world implies disorderly con- 
ditions as a whole. Again, suffering from any 
external environments or conditions implies a 
causal relation between the mental disorder and 
the outer disharmony. 

The only possible rational explanation, there- 
fore, of our physical calamities is, that our entire 
humanity is a unity bound up in one common 
bundle of organic life, and that the so-called nat- 
ural causes of our suffering are due to disharmony 
of the entire race as one, with the laws of rela- 
tion to God and the universe of worlds. 

It is clearly the teaching of the Scriptures that 
all physical catastrophes are due to moral evil or 



Two In One 141 

lack of harmony with law of our race as a whole. 
For example, the Noachian Flood, the destruc- 
tion of Sodom and other instances recorded in 
the Old Testament are expressly attributed to the 
wickedness of man as the cause or ground of the 
visitation. The same is true of the earthquake 
and the darkness at Christ's crucifixion. The 
Apostle Paul declares that all creation groans in 
bondage awaiting man's redemption. Christ tells 
us that, in the last times, physical disorders shall 
abound by reason of man's perverted spiritual 
state. We are prophetically told in Isaiah that 
there is a good time coming when wickedness 
shall cease and, as a result, all the earth will be 
in peace and harmony, and when nothing will hurt 
or destroy. In the Apocalypse, there is pictured 
before us a glorious vision of a new heaven and a 
new earth, that is to say, a new spiritual state of 
humanity and a new world environment and con- 
ditions resultant. Hence, as far as the Bible may 
be taken as authority, the question is settled. 

That the environments of a world of human be- 
ings must correspond to the moral character of 
its inhabitants is a self-evident proposition. It 
is impossible rationally to imagine it to be other- 
wise. Just try, for a moment, to think of the 
heavens as being visited by disasters similar to 
earthquakes or destructive cyclones, or of hell as 
being a realm of outward peace and harmony. 



142 Two In One 

The profound philosophical truth underlying 
and explaining this whole subject is, that men- 
tality stands related to environment, in all worlds, 
as cause to effect. The outer realm of appear- 
ances is always and everywhere, simply the inner 
world of thought made visible. There are only 
two other theories as to the relations of mind and 
matter conceivable, viz. : materialism, which 
makes mind to be the result of matter organized 
and thus leads to atheism ; and philosophical dual- 
ism, which recognizes mind and matter as two 
separate and distinct substances, the logical out- 
come of which is the enthronement of God in 
space. 

All profound thinkers are coming now to accept 
the philosophy that phenomena are the outshad- 
owing of spirit. Modern psychologists are gen- 
erally agreed that mind is the prime reality and 
that all nature's appearances and forces are 
thought in outward form and manifestation. Even 
natural science has advanced to a point, in its 
analysis of matter, where the next step will bring 
it into accord with mental science in holding the 
external universe of appearances to be the ex- 
figuration of the invisible universe of spirit sub- 
stance. The phenomena of nature may be re- 
garded as pictures on the screen cast by the Di- 
vine light and life outflowing through the image- 



Two In One 143 

form of universal spiritual man, the mental and 
moral state of the image determining the nature 
of the shadow. Thus the mental cosmos stands 
somewhat in the same relation to nature, or the 
physical cosmos, as the soul of the individual man 
does to his body; or in modern psychological 
terminology, as the subjective to the objective 
mind. As the soul in harmony with the laws of 
being would ultimate itself in a harmonious and 
healthy body; so universal man — the entire race, 
being in harmony, would out-birth itself in a har- 
monious physical world; and man would volun- 
tarily control nature, as was promised he should 
do and as, when he comes to himself, he will do. 
Had man retained his integrity, he would have run 
his historical course as the lord of creation instead 
of being, as he has ever been, its servant. There 
would have been no destructive violences of na- 
ture, transition would have taken the place of 
death, the external mind and body would have 
become gradually spiritualized, and thus man 
would have grown into heavenly conditions as lit- 
tle tragically as a child develops into youth and 
manhood. 

Granting the contention of the psychologist that 
all power is primarily thought, and accepting the 
hypothesis of natural science that there is, 
throughout all space, an all-pervading ether which 
is the inmost fountain of all physical phenomena ; 



144 Two In One 

and granting, again, that mind can act directly 
upon that ether, as is evidenced, by the well es- 
tablished facts of telepathy, that it can, we 
should have no difficulty in arriving at a causal 
nexus between mind and matter. And from this 
standpoint, we have also a very plausible theory 
of the immediate physical cause of earthquakes. 
We know that the earth is a great electro-magnet 
and that rivers of electric force course through 
it northward and southward. Now, why is it 
not rational to conclude that any abnormality in 
the cosmic mind acting upon and through etheric 
force would throw out of balance these great cur- 
rents of electric force traversing the earth, and 
thereby cause a violent passage of electricity 
from one earth stratum, or one earth zone, to 
another, such as occurs between two clouds of 
different electrical tensions? On this hypothesis, 
and thus only, is explainable the synchronous and 
wide extent of earthquakes. 

The principle of race solidarity is very far- 
reaching in its bearing on all theological thought. 
For example, the race thus standing in relation to 
God as one great personality, it follows that the 
welfare and final destiny of each individual are 
involved and included in the welfare and destiny 
of the whole. They who have gone before retain 
their vital unity with those yet on the natural 
plane of existence. Their lives are organically 



Two In One 145 

one, now and forever, all constituting one totality 
of race-life and character and evolving toward one 
common ultimation. 

Again, as to the central, all-embracing truth of 
Christianity, viz. : the character, life and work of 
Christ, the incarnated Divine Word. His rela- 
tions to our humanity were and are primarily to 
the whole race, and secondarily to individuals. His 
personality was the humanly organized expres- 
sion of a universally diffused Divine life in the 
entire race-body, which becomes personal within 
each individual who recognizes and receives him. 
He represents himself as standing at the door of 
every heart seeking admittance. 

Thus through the Divine Word organized into 
the race, the Spirit of Truth proceeding from the 
deeps of Infinite Love, evermore operates within 
all hearts and minds seeking to bring every one 
into harmony and unity with God, constituting 
one grand unitary body in Christ, thereby ful- 
filling his prayer: "Thou in me and I in them 
that they may be one in us. ,, 

"Pardon me," said Mr. Calvin, "I have a 
question to ask. It is : Whence and why this de- 
lusion or error of evil?" 

1 ' In the Edenic narrative, evil is represented as 
having its origin previous to the creation of man, 
and in the form of the serpent, as tempting man. 
Throughout the Scriptures, this evil influence is 



146 Two In One 

personalized under the terms Satan, devil, etc. 
Christ said his mission was to destroy the works 
of the devil. But whence this evil influence came 
is not revealed. ' ' 

"It seems to me," said Mr. Priestly, "that the 
nature of animal life during the geolgic ages and 
previous to the creation of man, corroborates the 
Scriptures that evil antedated his advent upon 
the earth. 

I think that the Swedenborgian teaching is true 
that all creation is composed of forms recipient 
of the Divine life, and that these forms are di- 
vided into two classes, viz., those of good antl 
those of evil ; the good being the outbirth and ex- 
pression of spiritual principles of good, and the 
evil of evil principles. For instance, poisonous 
and noxious minerals and plants, such as arsenic 
and strychnia, and hurtful animals, such as ven- 
omous serpents and cruel wild beasts, exist only 
because there is a corresponding spirit of evil 
flowing outward from the spirit-world, and which 
in fact sustains them in existence. 

On the other hand, all plants good for food, 
and innocent, kindly animals such as the lamb, 
the ox, the dove, are correspondences of good 
principles in the spirit realm, the fountain of all 
phenomenal existence. But the most prominent 
quality of the animals during the geologic ages 
of our planet was forms of evil. Now, if there 



Two In One 147 

was no evil or devil till man came, then whence 
these forms corresponding to evil antedating his 
creation many ages ? If they are evil forms now, 
they were then, and if they exist now because of 
present evil spiritual forces giving them life, the 
same was true then. 

The fact is, the fossil remains of Geology viewed 
in the light of this doctrine of correspondences, 
seem to lead to the conclusion that there was an 
evil sphere permeating the formative materials of 
our planet from the beginning, transforming the 
Divine creative innocent germs into the horrid 
forms of cruelty which we find imbedded in the 
earth's crust. 

Thus nature confirms the Bible in teaching that 
evil did not originate with man. The tempter 
was here when man came, and for some reason 
was permitted to tempt and overcome him, and 
during all succeeding ages to dominate the race. 
To say that this result was undesigned, or that 
there was no infinitely good purpose in it is to 
deny the Creator's Infinity. 

"As to what that purpose was," I remarked, "I 
have already, in my life narrative, partially indi- 
cated, and need not repeat here. In general, I 
may say, it is clear to me that the pre-existing 
evil, or devil, was permitted to ally itself with the 
very life of this planet in order that through a 
Divine incarnation in our humanity, it might be 



148 Two In One 

reached and destroyed forever; and that hence- 
forth the power going forth from the Divine 
Human of the Christ, the universe could never 
again be invaded; and further, that through the 
experiences of our race under the domination of 
evil, and our deliverance therefrom, there might 
be a manifestation of God, a fuller reception and 
indwelling of God in all, as the All, than could be 
in any other way. Whencesoever this evil power 
originated, or how, in nowise affects the verity of 
these conclusions. 

It must suffice us to know that evil is not a mar- 
plot, but that it exists, for a use sufficient for its 
justification; and that having accomplished that 
use, Christ wil not fail in his mission for its utter 
destruction. 

If there is no objection, we will take "Man" or 
4 * Psychology, ' ' as our next subject. 



CHAPTER IX. 

We have already observed that man is consti- 
tuted of three degrees or ranges of life from the 
within to the without, termed in the Pauline 
psychology pneuma, psuke and soma, translated 
spirit, soul and body. 

As Spirit, he has had being in God from eter- 
nity. What degree of individual consciousness 
he possessed, we can only conjecture. He has 
had at least eternal being as a germinal person- 
ality, with all the potentialities inherent, which 
are manifest in his present state of existence and 
as exhibited in their perfection in the Christ. 

Thinkers all along the ages have been divided 
on the question as to whether the soul has its 
origin by natural generation, and comes into the 
existence with and through the body, or whether 
it had previous existence and that the bodily 
plane of thought and feeling alone is taken on by 
natural birth. The early church were divided on 
this question under the names of pre-existenceists 
and traducianists, the latter holding that the soul 
is derived from its parents by the process of nat- 
ural generation. 

But which of these theories is true matters lit- 



150 Two In One 

tie for out present purpose. The point of im- 
portance in this conection is that the real man, 
the Spiritual man, perfect in idea, has from eter- 
nity had being in God, that the soul and body- 
are but the outward evolution of its inherent 
powers into a conscious personal selfhood, and 
that the apointed destiny of each individual is the 
bringing out of all the perfections of the inner 
man into objective expression and actuality. 

There are reasons conclusive to my mind that 
the soul degree has constituted the plane of man's 
consciousness as an individual from eternity. As- 
suredly, whatever degree of individuality or self- 
consciousness he may have possessed previous to 
birth here, was accompanied by, and constituted 
of, an environing external universe. Such a 
sphere of outward things and beings perceived as 
other than self, is essential to any conception of 
self as a distinct entity. There must be a sense 
of otherness even of God in order to self-conscious 
individuality. 

As regards our natural universe, even physical 
science has concluded that it is but the outward- 
ing in fixed forms of an invisible spiritual uni- 
verse. See the work entitled, "The Spiritual 
Universe,' ' the joint production of Professors Tait 
and Balfour Stewart, two of England's leading 
scientists. Physical Science is thus brought into 
harmony with modern psychology in holding that 



Two In One 151 

all the outer realm of forms and forces is a 
thought world, that is to say, thought objectified 
and made visible to the natural senses. Seers, 
or those whose spiritual eyes have been opened, 
tell us that in the spiritual realm the inhabitants 
recognize their environments to be only their men- 
tal selves outwardly expressed, and while in gen- 
eral their environments of landscape and home 
surroundings are fixed and unchangeable in cor- 
respondence with their general fixedness of men- 
tal and moral character, their changing moods 
and flitting thoughts are outwardly expressed in 
corresponding transitory appearings of flowers, 
birds, insects, etc., which they recognize as the 
outbirthings of their thoughts and emotions. In 
this way, the phenomena of their world are living 
pictures of their inward selves and their relations 
to others. 

But here in this world, our materialistic thought 
outwardly manifests itself in a corresponding fix- 
edness of physical conditions. 

To repeat, then, man is primarily existent in 
God, visually manifested and thus resident in and 
environed by, a spiritual universe. Thence he 
comes by birth into the present state of existence, 
and takes on a still more outward range of con- 
sciousness in the natural body, with its environing 
natural or physical world. Thus we have the 
three-fold man of the Scriptures. 



152 Two In One 

These three planes of consciousness are related 
respectively to one another, from the within to 
the without, as cause and effect, the higher or 
more interior flowing downward and outward, 
forming the next lower in its image and likeness, 
faculty answering to faculty, and function to 
function, so that the lower is the exact cor- 
respondential expression of that from which it is 
derived. 

The faculties of the natural mind of man are 
each and all merely the outward manifestation 
of the soul. The outer man is the soul made 
visible and so organized as to express the soul 
life in physical form and under physical condi- 
tions. 

The soul bears the same relation to the Spirit, 
or most interior degree, that the body does to the 
soul. The ego or real self of the soul is the 
spirit, and the ego of the body is the soul. The 
spirit is the life of the soul and the soul is the 
life of the body. 

Likewise the spirit realm of unexpressed ideas 
takes form in the soul realm of thought consti- 
tuting the psychic or soul universe of outward ap- 
pearances ; and these in turn are expressed in the 
seeming substance of persons, animals and things 
in the world of nature, constituting the material 
universe. 



Two In One 153 

These three planes of consciousness are not in- 
dependent of one another, but constitute a one. 
They are one in the sense that the mental and af- 
fectional activities of the external or natural man 
are the resultant ultimation or outflowing stream 
of the two internal degrees acting and expressing 
themselves herein. 

As the soul has been eternally one with the 
spirit, and the manifestation of it, so the plane of 
consciousness of this outer or natural existence, 
which we enter upon through the gate of natural 
birth, becomes henceforth an essential part of the 
entire man, the ultimate expression for both of the 
interior degrees, and as such is to continue for- 
ever. 

Hence the laying aside of this bodily plane of 
consciousness by death, or rather its going to 
sleep, as the Scriptures express it, is only a tem- 
porary cessation of its functions, similar to natural 
sleep. 

The Lord Jesus said of Jairus' daughter, "She 
is not dead, but sleepeth." And of Lazarus, he 
said to his disciples, "Our friend Lazarus sleep- 
eth, let us go to awake him. ' ' 

Death is only a temporary incident in the never 
ending course of our bodily existence. It is a 
temporary failure, by reason of sin, to reach the 
end for which man was brought into this outer 
existence. But it is not to be permanent failure. 



154 Two In One 

It is true of the body, indeed it was spoken of the 
body that "As in Adam all died, so in Christ shall 
be made alive." The man is to be awakened 
from this temporary sleep of the body and go for- 
ward in the accomplishment of the end for which 
this existence was bestowed. That end is the 
bringing down into this outer consciousness a real- 
ization of God as the life and soul thereof, and 
thus the so becoming at one with God that the 
Infinite Life, Love, Intelligence and Power shall 
be ultimated in fullness therein. 

Speaking of those who had passed by death 
from this outer state of consciousness, the Lord 
Jesus said, ' ' The time is coming and now is, when 
they that are in their graves shall hear the voice 
of the Son of God and shall come forth, they that 
have done good to the resurrection of life, and 
they that have done evil to the resurrection of 
Judgment." The Greek term rendered in the 
common version ' ' damnation, " is ' ' Krisis, ' ' which 
means simply "Judgment" — a revealing of the 
moral state of the one judged. 

The Apostle Paul in 1 Cor., 15th chapter, teaches 
as plainly as language can express it that there 
is to be an awakening of the bodily plane of con- 
sciousness — that this in fact constitutes the res- 
urrection. There were those in his day who de- 
nied this just as there are those in our day who 
spiritualize the whole matter into an uplifting of 



I 



Two In One 155 

the mental or spiritual states, and others who hold 
that the resurrection means simly a rising of the 
soul life out of the body at death. 

Those errorists in Paul's day claimed that the 
resurrection was already past— probably meaning 
at death. 

All this confusion of thought on the subject of 
the resurrection has arisen out of a lack of under- 
standing of the real nature of the soul and of the 
body, their functions and their relations to each 
other. Materialistic thought has confounded the 
bodily plane of consciousness which is mental, 
with a supposed physical substance — flesh and 
blood — which is merely its present outward 
phenomenal expression and in itself is not sub- 
stance. 

Paul tells us that the resurrection wil not be 
of matter as we apprehend it — flesh and blood. All 
that we call matter is but fixed forms of the ele- 
mental force which scientists have termed the 
ether. The mental state must determine the ap- 
parent nature of the substance which this force 
will assume in every state of existence. We may 
infer that the bodies of those who have with 
Christ become divinized are constituted of the 
ether in its first and highest expression in nature, 
wherein shall be manifested all the powers stored 
up in this fountain of power. 

Our present bodies are the manifestation of that 



156 Two In One 

same force in its grossest, coarsest degree corre- 
sponding to our material thought. The resur- 
rection will consist not of again entering into this 
gross matter, but of an awakening of the mental- 
ity which really constitutes the body and the put- 
ting forth of this mentality into visibility cor- 
respondent to its state. 

Paul tells us that there is a natural body and 
there is a spiritual body. Our present body is 
natural — seeming flesh and blood substance, be- 
cause of our present materialistic, mental state; 
the spiritual body will be composed of ethereal 
(spiritual) substance that is of more interior 
forces, according with the changed mental state. 
But to the mental state that assumes it, it will be 
as tangible and real as the present physical body 
is to the physical senses, and more so. 

Just as our physical senses are adapted to the 
grosser forms of force, called matter, so our spir- 
itual senses will be adapted to the more ethereal 
and more substantial forms of those forces. 

We are admonished in the Scriptures that after 
death, the Judgment or a realization of the moral 
state in relation to God, whether that of harmony 
with the eternal laws of our being or of dishar- 
mony therewith. This sort of Judgment every 
right thinking man is here and now undergoing 
every day. By the inshining of the truth, the 
quality of his thoughts, loves, motives and actions 



Two In One 157 

is revealed to him, conscience approving or disap- 
proving. Thus in one sense Judgment day is every 
day in this world, and the character is formed for 
good or evil according to the heed we give to the 
monitions of truth. Our present gross mental 
state, through the physical senses, can take cog- 
nizance of the forces in which we are immersed 
only in the gross form of so-called matter, and 
hence in the more subtle form of the chemical 
forces, electricity, etc., they disappear from sense 
vision. It only requires a mental state properly 
relatsd to these interior forces for their becoming 
apprehensible to the senses in a way as much more 
real and substantial as are those forces more real 
and substantial in their more ethereal expression 
than they are in this outer world. 

The truth thus coming to us and revealing the 
way in which we should walk seems to us, as the 
Lord Jesus terms it, an adversary. It is so, be- 
cause it exposes and opposes our loves and desires. 
He admonishes us to agree with this adversary 
quickly while we are in the way with him, other- 
wise we shall be handed over to the Judge, con- 
victed, and imprisoned and shall not get out of 
the prison 'till we have paid the last farthing. 
That is, we shall fix evil in the character which 
becomes a prison house, to be eliminated only 
through suffering. 

But to the soul consciousness in the psychic 



158 Two In One 

realm in which we enter by the falling to sleep 
of the outer man, there can be no such judgment, 
as will appear by a consideration of the nature 
and relations of the external and the internal 
man. 

As we are born into this outer existence, the 
consciousness is for the time transferred from the 
soul plane to that of the body. In this external 
state of thought and feeling the man realizes only 
his life in the body, his relations to the physical 
world and his dependence upon it for existence. 
Step by step his natural faculties are unfolded, 
first in the opening and activities of the physical 
senses, and thus the perception of the facts and 
phenomena of nature. Following this, there is 
developed the power of classifying facts and ar- 
riving at general ideas in the form of laws or 
principles, and thence of reasoning from these 
principles deductively to ulterior conclusions, but 
always and only in the range of such knowledge 
as is derived from the action of the physical 
senses and reasonings from data derived there- 
from. 

The end or object of the developments of this 
natural degree of consciousness is that it may be 
the basis for the development thereon or therein 
of a spiritual consciousness in this outer degree, 
or rather a flowing in of spiritual truth — a real- 
ization of God as the life — to be accepted and in- 



Two In One 159 

corporated by and in this natural mind, and so 
the Divine attributes of Love, Wisdom, Goodness 
and Power to manifest themselves therein hence- 
forth in ever increasing fullness throughout eter- 
nity. 

As the Apostle says, " First the natural and 
af terwards the spiritual ; ' ' and we may add, first, 
1 ' the natural in order to the spiritual. ' ' Such is 
the process of becoming Sons of God which, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures, it was Christ's mission 
to give. "As many as received him, to them 
gave he power to become Sons of God." 

The relations of this external mind to the in- 
ternal, and the process of regeneration or diviniza- 
tion, have not hitherto been clearly understood, 
and hence there has been much confusion of 
thought on the entire subject. 

Modern scientific methods of investigation have 
thrown much light upon it. I will quote on this 
point from Hudson's "Psychic Phenomena." 
Although this author is surprisingly limited in his 
views as to the far-reaching results of his inves- 
tigations and conclusions, especially in their bear- 
ings on the nature of the psychic realm and our 
present relations thereto, he is very clear and con- 
clusive on the immediate subject under considera- 
tion ; that is, the nature and relations of the outer 
and inner mind of the individual man. 

He says: "In more recent years the doctrine 



160 Two In One 

of duality of mind is beginning to be more clearly 
denned and it may now be said to constitute a 
cardinal principle in the philosophy of many of 
the ablest exponents of the new psychology. 
Thousands of examples might be cited to show 
that in all ages the truth has been dimly recog- 
nized by men of all civilized races and in all con- 
ditions of life. 

Indeed, it may be safely predicted of every man 
of intelligence and refinement that he has often 
felt within himself an intelligence not the result of 
education, a perception of truth, independent of 
testimony of his bodily senses. 

It is natural to supose that a proposition, the 
substantial correctness of which has been so 
widely recognized, must possess not only a solid 
basis of truth, but must, if clearly understood, 
possess a veritable significance of the utmost im- 
portance to mankind. 

Hitherto, however, no successful attempt has 
been made to define clearly the nature of the two 
elements which constitute the dual mind ; nor has 
the fact been recognized that the two minds pos- 
sess distinctive characteristics. It is a fact, 
nevertheless, that the line of demarcation between 
the two is clearly defined; that each is endowed 
with separate and distinct attributes and powers ; 
that their functions are unlike, and that each is 



Two In One 161 

capable under certain conditions and limitations 
of independent action. 

For want of a better nomenclature, I shall dis- 
tinguish the two by designating the one as ob- 
jective and the other as subjective. In doing so, 
the commonly received definitions of the two 
words will be slightly modified and extended ; but 
in as much as they more nearly express my exact 
meaning than any others that occur to me, I pre- 
fer to use them rather than attempt to coin new 
ones. 

In general terms, the difference between man's 
two minds may be stated as follows: 

The objective mind takes cognizance of the ob- 
jective world. Its media of observation are the 
five physical senses. It is the outgrowth of 
man's physical necessities. It is the guide in his 
struggle with his material environment. Its 
highest function is that of reasoning. 

The subjective mind takes cognizance of its en- 
vironment by means independent of the physical 
senses. It perceives by intuition. It performs 
its highest functions when the objective senses 
are in abeyance. In a word, it is that intelligence 
which makes itself manifest in a hypnotic subject 
when he is in a state of somnambulism. 

In this state, many of the most wonderful feats 
of the subjective mind are performed. It sees 
without the use of the natural organs of vision; 



162 Two In One 

and in this as well as in many other grades, or 
degrees of the hypnotic state, it can be made- 
apparently to leave the body, and travel to dis- 
tant lands and bring back intelligence, often- 
times of the most exact and truthful character. 
It has also the power to read the thoughts of 
others, even to the minutest details; to read the 
contents of sealed envelopes and of closed books. 
In short it is the subjective mind that possesses 
what is popularly designated as clairvoyant 
power, and the ability to apprehend the thoughts 
of others without the aid of the ordinary ob- 
jective means of communication. 

The following propositions will not, therefore,, 
be disputed by any intelligent student: 

1. That the objective mind, or, let us say, man 
in his normal condition, is not controllable, 
against reason, positive knowledge, or the evi- 
dence of his senses, by the suggestions of an- 
other. 

2. That the subjective mind, or man in the 
hypnotic state, is unqualifiedly and constantly 
amenable to the power of suggestion. 

That is to say, the subjective mind accepts, 
without hesitation or doubt, every statement that 
is made to it, (by the objective mind). "One 
of the most important distinctions between the 
objective and subjective minds pertains to the 
functions of reason. That there is a radical dif- 



Two In One 163 

ference in their powers and methods of reasoning 
is a fact which has not been noted by any psy- 
chologist who has written on the subject. It is, 
nevertheless, a proposition which will be readily 
conceded to be essentially true by every observer 
when his attention is once called to it. The prop- 
ositions may be briefly stated as follows: 

1. The objective mind is capable of reasoning 
by all methods — inductive and deductive, analytic 
and synthetic. 

2. The subjective mind is incapable of induc- 
tive reasoning. The subjective mind never classi- 
fies a series of known facts and reasons from them 
up to general principles; but given a general 
principle to start with it will reason deductively 
from that down to all legitimate inferences, with 
marvellous cogency and power. Place a man of 
intelligence and cultivation in the hypnotic state, 
and give him a premise, say in the form of a 
statement of a general principle of philosophy, 
and no matter what may have been his opinions 
in his normal conditions he will unhesitatingly in 
obedience to the power of suggestion assume the 
correctness of the position; and if given an op- 
portunity to discuss the question, will proceed to 
deduce therefrom the details of a whole system 
of philosophy." 

The writer further shows that the memory of 
the subjective mind seems to be perfect, retain- 



164 Two In One 

ing with marvelous exactness every fact and 
principle impressed upon it by the objective mind. 

All investigations of modern psychologists, in 
the light of superior scientific methods, lead inev- 
itably to the conclusion that, whatever may have 
been the powers of the soul or subjective mind 
previous to birth into this objective sphere, in 
this state of existence it is amenable to and de- 
pendent on the objective mind in the following 
important particulars: 

1 The soul has no power of gathering and 
classifying facts and thus arriving at truth by the 
process of induction, but is dependent on the outer 
mind for its facts and principles, which it accepts 
without question and by deduction carries them 
out to their logical results, thus fulfilling the 
Lord's saying, "Whatsoever ye bind on earth 
(the outer man) shall be bound in heaven (the 
inner man) ; and whatsoever ye shall loose on 
earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

2. Hence this interior mind has no faculty of 
seeing truth of itself other than in the line of 
its desires. It sees as true when left to itself 
only what it loves and desires to be true. There- 
fore, in and of itself it has no power of judgment 
of what is right or wrong, and consequently no 
power of repentance or reformation. Left to 
itself, it must forever remain what its chief or 
leading love determines to be true and good. 



Two In One 165 

This was seen by Swedenborg, and hence his 
teaching of the unchangeableness of the soul's 
state after death. In fact, this truth has been 
intuitively perceived by thinkers of all ages and 
creeds, and hence the reincarnation theory of 
orientalism and the endless damnation theory of 
much of our Christian theology. 

3. When the objective mind is placed in abey- 
ance to the subjective mind and the latter is free 
to flow out and express itself through the bodily 
organism, it exhibits extraordinary powers. 

Now, whether these powers are to be attri- 
buted to the individual subjective mind, or 
whether they are the result of a larger tide of 
life and thought with which it is in vital relation 
within the subjective sphere, and of which, under 
hypnotic control, it becomes the medium, we do 
not know. Many facts point rather to the idea 
that these extraordinary powers are the result 
of an influx from the interior soul realm of a con- 
cert of mind force, the objective mind being 
made amenable to the subjective mind and realm 
and thus becoming the passive medium of its ex- 
pression on the outer plane. 

This psychic realm is a mental state, and a gath- 
ering place of all who have lived before us, and 
is a reservoir of life and thought force which may 
under certain conditions, both normal and ab- 
normal, be opened out into the natural realm 



166 Two In One 

through the channels of the individual mind and 
express itself in that way. Such seems to be 
the teaching of the Scriptures and the explana- 
tion of various psychic phenomena exhibited all 
through past history. The demonic obsessions 
of the time of Christ are explainable only on 
this hypothesis, as for example, the case of the 
man of Gedara, out of whom it is said there was 
cast a legion of devils. That is to say, he was 
released from being the subject of their com- 
bined infesting power. 

Now as to the practical bearing of these facts 
on the relation between the inner and the outer 
man and between the seen and the unsees realms. 

First, on the subject of regeneration, or the 
divinizing of the natural man, the end for which 
this existence is given. 

Regeneration is effected by the mind's being 
able to see the truth aside from and above the 
loves and desires, and so to judge as to whether 
the character is conformed to the right. And 
further, there must be resident in the mind, the 
power termed freedom of the will, by which to 
force the acts into conformity with what is per- 
ceived as true and right. 

The results of the action of these faculties is 
character, which is merely the accepting and in- 
corporating into the life and stowing away in the 



Two In One 167 

subjective mind as fixed principles, whatever is 
received as truth and good. 

In this way we are daily building up ourselves 
in righteousness — right relations to God — or in 
unrighteousness — disorderly states of mind and 
heart. We are laying up our treasures on earth 
or in Heaven. 

In all this process the objective mind must 
rule. If the subjective mind were permitted to 
rule, then the very end of the existence of the 
objective mind would be thwarted, viz.: the es- 
tablishing of a selfhood of rationality and free- 
dom in this outer degree. This can be done only 
by the free and uncontrolled choice and action 
of the outer mind. 

And in consonance with this idea, we find that 
where the objective mind becomes, through hyp- 
notic processes, or otherwise, permanently under 
the control of the subjective mind, serious re- 
sults follow. It is, in fact, the most potent 
factor in all cases of insanity. 

By a realization of the vital relation of the 
objective to the subjective minds and of the 
outer to the inner realms, we may become open 
to the outflowing of the life and power within, 
and indeed the outer man shall eventually be- 
come the theater of the full expression of the 
internal powers; but now and evermore these 
powers must be exercised under the control of 



168 Two In One 

the objective life and thought, or at least the sub- 
jective must act in harmony with and not in con- 
trol of the objective mind. 

In this light we can understand the nature and 
philosophy of what is termed spiritualism. 

A medium is simply a person in whom the ob- 
jective mind has temporarily or permanently 
ceased to exercise normal control and who is, 
therefore, given over to the domination of the 
subjective mind with whatever influences the 
moral character of the medium may be amnitized 
in the psychic realm. 

Such control of the objective by the subjective 
mind being in its very nature abnormal, the 
practice of mediumship is, of course, injurious. 

And since the subjective mind is dependent on 
the objective for its knowledge of all facts and 
truths relating to the external world, and even of 
moral principles, the absurdity is manifest of 
looking thence for knowledge, instruction or 
guidance. 

Morover, it is a surrendering of the individual 
freedom by which alone man is enabled to attain 
the end for which existence in this world is be- 
stowed. 

In the perfected, regenerated state toward 
which our race is evolving, the interior and ex- 
terior minds and realms will be one in conscious 
life and act ; and in that good time coming when 



Two In One 169 

evil shall have been abolished in our race, there 
will no longer be any bar between communion of 
the new earth and the new heavens. 

But now, to have the door thrown open to 
such unrestricted communication would be to 
have hell flow in upon the earth to the utter de- 
struction of human freedom. It was from this 
source that came the demonic obsessions and un- 
utterable depravities which abounded at the com- 
ing of the Christ ; and it is thence that is to come 
the dire conflicts foretold by him again to visit 
the earth at his second coming. 

The present psychic movement in its various 
phases, good and evil, is a most significant sign 
of the times. It means the opening of the long 
closed objective mind to the influx from the sub- 
jective realms of both Heaven and hell, to end 
in the final conflict and the destruction of evil. 

"You have opened up a wide field of thought 
here, said Mr. Calvin, and I move that the sub- 
ject be continued at our next meeting." 



CHAPTER X. 

The continuance of this subject was at your 
suggestion, I said to Mr. Calvin at our next meet- 
ing; we will be pleased to hear from you. 

"I have only this to say," he answered, "that 
I congratulate you on having given, so far as I 
know, the only rational and Scriptural theory of 
the resurrection. Assuming the existence of 
hades or the spirit world, the correctness of your 
psychology and your theory of the object of our 
present existence, your idea of the resurrection 
inevitably follows. If I understood you, you 
claim that hades is the place of immediate abode 
of all who pass from this life and was, up to 
Christ, the abode of all souls who had previously 
existed here. You are aware, of course, that in 
this you are at variance with the common senti- 
ment of the protest ant church.' ' 

"Yes, I am aware of the church's position. 
Luther, in his opposition to the Roman Catholic 
purgatory, went to the extreme of denying any 
intermediate state whatever, and all the protest- 
ant sects, except the church of England, have 
followed him in this error. The notion that, 
at death, the soul ascends immediately to heaven 



172 Two In One 

or plunges into hell, flies in the face of reason, 
of the teachings of the Scriptures and of the 
common faith of the church up to the time of 
Luther. 

The Jewish notion in general, on this subject, 
was that of a heaven, the dwelling place of the 
Almighty and of Sheol, (hades) the region of 
the phantom dead. Their idea is indicated by 
the prophet, Isaiah. He says of Babylon, * ' Sheol 
is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming. 
It stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief 
ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their 
thrones all the kings of the nations." Later on 
under the Rabbins, Sheol becomes to be divided 
into separate regions, the upper region being 
paradise, where the good dwelt, and the lower 
place for the wicked. This conception of the 
unseen world is recognized by our Lord in his 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus, also in his 
language to the thief on the cross, "This day 
shalt thou be with me in paradise.' ' And his 
declaration, "The time is coming and now is 
when all that are in their graves shall hear the 
voice of the Son of God and come forth, they 
that have done good to the resurrection of life, 
and they that have done evil to the resurrection 
of judgment," implies: first, that there was a 
bringing of departed souls out of some place 
where they had been dwelling previous to their 



Two In One 173 

resurrection; and second, that this awakening 
was requisite to the execution of judgment upon 
those who had done evil. The conclusion is in- 
evitable that unless these departed souls had an 
existence in some intermediate state they had no 
conscious existence whatever until they were 
called forth by the voice of Divine Truth. 

Peter tells us that Christ went and preached 
to the spirits in prison. These spirits surely had 
a conscious existence somewhere. But it could 
not have been in the heavens. Paul closes his 
discussion of the resurrection of the body with 
the triumphant exclamation, "0, death, where is 
thy sting; 0, hades, where is thy victory V 9 In 
fact, the existence of a hades realm is directly 
taught or implied in all the writings of the New 
Testament and the error of denying its existence 
would never have had place in theology but as 
a supposed necessary means of getting rid of 
purgatory.' 

"What of all those who have passed from this 
world characterless, as for example, children and 
idiots?" further inquired Mr. Calvin. 

"On this subject, we are left to rational de- 
ductions from established facts and principles. 
Thence, we must conclude that by birth into the 
present existence, they acquire at least the germ 
of natural selfhood which, being placed under 
appropriate influences in the spirit realm, devel- 



174 Two In One 

ops into fullness of manhood and womanhood. 
"We can readily see that the hereditary tendencies 
may become successively manifest, resistance to 
which may afford a basis for the forming of a 
positive character and open the way for the in- 
flowing of the Divine life and thereby of conscious 
unity with Christ in God." 

"Does not the law of mental suggestion ex- 
plain the philosophy of mental healing ? ' ' inquired 
Mr. Clark. 

"It does if we take the term to embrace any 
and every means of impressing the subjective 
mind. The relation of the subjective to the ob- 
jective mind is phenomenally expressed in the 
relation of the sympathetic nervous system to the 
vital functions of the bodily organism. It is the 
presiding genius governing and controlling all 
vital functions. It is the fountain out of which 
flow the issues of bodily life and as the fountain 
is, so the streams will be. Bodily health or dis- 
ease are the outwardly registered mental states 
of the inner man. 

Thanks to modern methods of scientific inves- 
tigation, viz.: the study of body and mind in 
their interrelations, we are now enabled for the 
first time in the history of therapeutics to answer 
the questions, what constitutes health ? And what 
is disease? 

If the outer man is the expression of an out- 



Two In One 175 

flow from the primal depths within, where the 
spiritual man dwells in perfectness in God, 
health must consist in such mental states of soul 
and body as to allow the free and unperverted 
influx from the spirit; and disease simply sig- 
nifies some obstruction interfering with an or- 
derly influx from within. Hence, to effect a 
cure requires only to open or purify the closed 
or perverted channel. 

But the thoughts and emotions of the external 
mind impressing the internal determine the na- 
ture of its activities in outward bodily expres- 
sion. The heart, lungs and all the vital func- 
tions respond instantly to any thought and feel- 
ing. For example, place a delicate thermometer 
in each hand and then concentrate attention 
upon the right hand and it will grow warmer 
than the left, indicating an increased flow of 
blood to it. Again, a fit of anger causes the 
breath to come short, the heart to beat vigorously, 
the blood to rush to the face, the hands to clinch 
and the limbs to quiver and grow tense. All 
this is but the reaction of the subjective mind 
from the mental force impressed upon it by the 
outer thought and feeling. Thus the persistent 
action of the outer mind may impress upon the 
internal mind a fixed state of abnormality and 
produce chronic disease, heart disease, dyspepsia, 
or any other. It follows that bodily conditions 



176 Two In One 

as to health and disease are the outward expres- 
sions of the sum total or resultant of the interior 
mental states. All cures, therefore, must reach 
the subjective mind and correct its abnormalities. 

There are different methods of doing this and, 
hence, the various pathies or systems of treat- 
ment. 

The most common is that of drugs. The 
philosophy of cure, by drug action, has ever been 
a mystery. We know, however, that any sub- 
stance in nature, mineral or vegetalle, is merely 
the phenomenal manifestation of a specific men- 
tal-vital force in the interior realm of spiritual 
causation. 

Now, may it not be that by the introduction 
of a drug into the body, its vital essence is re- 
leased and its underlying mental force is brought 
to bear on the subjective mind? But whether 
or not such be the rationale of drug medication, 
the cure is effected and can only be effected 
through a therapeutic influence upon the sub- 
jective mind. 

As mind can most immediately affect mind, it 
would seem that the most direct and potent 
method of curing disease would be the mental, 
and so it proves to be in the measure in which 
the laws governing the whole matter are under- 
stood and complied with. 

From time immemorial and among all nations, 



Two In One 177 

both savage and civilized, this method has been 
successfully practiced. 

History abounds with wonders wrought in this 
way. Our Lord assumed that his disciples fol- 
lowing his example would possess this power and 
commanded them to heal the sick as an integral 
part of their work. And in the light of our 
present knowledge of the essential character of 
man and his inherent relations to God, it readily 
appears why every true and enlightened believer 
in Christ should be endued with this power. 

The subjective mind may be mentally im- 
pressed either by auto-suggestion, that is to say, 
by the objective mind of the subject himself, or 
by the action of the mind of another person. In 
fact, every moment of our lives, by every thought 
and feeling, everyone is impressing and moulding 
the mental and moral states of his own sub- 
jective or soul mind. The truths or errors, the 
good or evil, which we accept and adopt in the 
outer life become fixed laws and principles of the 
soul, and thus character is continually being 
formed. Moreover, any undesirable state which 
we may find fixed in the subjective mind, such as 
a slavish habit or wrong thought or desires, may 
be removed by concentrating the thought on the 
opposite wished for result, and persistently sug- 
gesting that we have what we wish. 

The subjective mind may be reached as before 



178 Two In One 

stated, also by the mental suggestion of another. 
The operator may do this by orally expressing 
his thought, and thus through the objective mind 
of the subject reach and impress his inner mind; 
or, he may attain the same end by telepathic ally, 
silently conveying his thought. In the latter 
case, it is essential that the operator partially 
psychologize himself and thus by concentration 
bring his subjective mind into direct relation 
with that of his patient. Both these methods 
are in constant use by practitioners either sepa- 
rately or in combination. Of course, all healing 
practice, at a distance, is by the telepathic com- 
munication of one subjective mind with another. 
The practitioners of mental cure under the name 
of ' ' Psyco-therapy, ' ' or " suggestive thera- 
peutics," either partially or wholly hypnotize 
their patients and in this way bring their sug- 
gestions to bear directly on the subjective minds 
of the latter." 

"What is the difference," asked Mr. Calvin, 
"between the methods of Christ and those of 
modern mental suggestionists ? " 

"The difference, as I see it, consists both in 
the degree and the quality of their faith. The 
potency of suggestion depends on the confidence 
of both operator and subject that it will accom- 
plish the end sought. The confidence of the 
mental cure suggestionist is based merely on ob- 



Two In One 179 

servation of the results obtained by experimenta- 
tion. He knows nothing, or takes no account of 
man's deeper nature and hence has little under- 
standing of the philosophy of the relation of the 
outer man to the inner realm. 

The enlightened Christian realizes that the 
springs of life of both himself and his patient 
lie back of the immediate subjective or soul mind 
in the spiritual man in God, the realm of all 
power; and that he is at unity with God in that 
inner degree of being. He further understands 
how, by the right thought properly directed, the 
obstacles in the mental states of the subjective 
mind of the patient may be reached, errors be 
banished and truths impressed. His inner, spir- 
itual development enables him intuituvely to per- 
ceive the mental abberrations of his patient.. And 
as a result of all this he is endowed with an as- 
sured faith arising from a consciousness of a 
Divine power working in and through him. Abid- 
ing in Christ and Christ's word abiding in 
him, his thought and will become con- 
sciously the thought and will of the person- 
alized Divinity within him. In propor- 
tion as these conditions of unity with God 
and resultant faith prevail, will he be imbued 
with healing power. Such is the Christ method 
of healing in both quality and degree which he 
commanded his followers to use. It is founded 



180 Two In One 

on law, and the law being complied with the re- 
sult follows as effect follows canse. Hence the 
error of the notion that healing was a special gift 
for a special purpose, limited to the time of the 
early church. 

That the healing of the body should have been 
a concomitant part of the church's work forever- 
more is implied in the very nature and object of 
Christianity. Christ was incarnated in order to 
destroy sin and its effects — the works of the devil. 
But bodily disease, as Christ declares, is the re- 
sult of sin ; and hence the forgiving of sin should 
by removing the cause, absolve from its effects in 
the body. The Lord said to those he healed, 
"Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come 
upon thee. ' ' The only reason that bodily healing 
has not always gone along paripassu with deliver- 
ance from sin is, that materialism has, in the pop- 
ular mind, divorced the spiritual realm of causa- 
tion from the natural realm of effects and thus 
shut off all understanding of the relations be- 
tween soul and body, and thereby removed all 
ground for faith in reaching bodily conditions by 
mental methods. 

"How about the early church?" The world of 
that day had no philosophical knowledge of the 
relations of the inner to the outer man and yet 
they carried out Christ's commission to heal. 

The faith of the early Christians was the re- 



i < 



Two In One 181 

suit of a Divine inspiration from the full tide of 
inflowing life from the newly risen Saviour, and 
had no permanent basis in an understanding of 
the law. 

But now, the time has arrived in race develop- 
ment when faith can be grounded upon a rational 
understanding, or upon a scientific and philosoph- 
ical basis and hence not only will be permanent but 
will grow more and more in potency as the sun of 
this new era rises toward its zenith. 

"Since character is formed by the determina- 
tion of the will and outward obedience in act," 
said Mr. Priestly, "it becomes a matter of the first 
importance to understand just what constitutes 
the will and how it may be controlled. It is the 
result of a preponderance of motives for or 
against any particular course of action, or is it 
an autocratic power which can act against, 
and in spite of, any degree of impelling 
desires and feelings V 9 

"It seems to me that the new psychology comes 
to our aid here. The will is shown to have its 
seat in the subjective mind and to be the outgo- 
ing resultant of the combined impressions of 
thought, emotion and affection impressed upon the 
subjective mind by the objective. The outer 
mind, by auto-suggestion, contributes the im- 
pressions that make up the will power and there- 
by determines the quality and quantity of its out- 



182 Two In One 

flow in activity, every thought, feeling and de- 
termination of the objective mind being a tribu- 
tary rivulet swelling the current. Thus a man 
can create for himself a power of choice for good 
or evil. Herein, in fact, consists the basis of his 
freedom and responsibility. 

Furthermore, the will power is supplemented by 
contributory forces with which the mind is in con- 
nection, both in this world and in the psychic 
realm. The subjective mind being in vital re- 
lation with the great ocean of mentality, its posi- 
tive states become a center of attraction, drawing 
into its channel those environing forces. This may 
be illustrated by considering the process of 
growth of any religious cult. An individual, for 
example, becomes deeply persuaded of the truth 
and importance of a certain doctrine or religious 
theory and by the intensity of his feelings draws 
other minds into his stream of thought, and these 
others, and so he presently finds himself the focal 
and radiating center of great mental forces in an 
ever increasing and widening circle. The same 
law holds with reference to any fixed purpose and 
determined effort by any one in any line what- 
ever. 

This principle has an important bearing in all 
our relations to others. The outgoing of our 
lives is constantly, whether we will or not, silently 



Two In One 183 

and telepathically impressing the subjective minds 
of all those whom our thoughts may reach. 

Thought is infectious. By its pervasive influ- 
ence, popular opinion is formed; diseases are 
propagated; crime and suicide abound, and fads 
of various kinds take their rise and run their 
course. A crime is committed, for instance, and all 
its horrible details are given through the press, 
thereby implanting suggestions in the minds of 
many susceptible persons, from day to day, until 
they become in a measure psychologized and, op- 
portunity offering, are precipitated into the com- 
mission of a similar crime. Thus a crop of mur- 
ders or other outrages frequently follows public 
trials and executions. Capital punishment has 
proven to be not only not a deterrent of crime, but 
really to promote it. 

In this way, also disease is propagated. Adver- 
tisements, in the press, of patent nostrums as cure- 
alls, describing the symptoms of disease, are read 
by multitudes who find in the symptoms some de- 
tail which seems to fit themselves, and which be- 
comes a suggestion resulting in their becoming 
invalids and medicine fiends; but who, in the ab- 
sence of such suggestions, would have overcome 
their slight ailments and enjoyed good health. 
Some particular form of disease, say appendicitis, 
may and frequently does become a fad and there 
is a general rush to get it. 



184 Two In One 

The importance of understanding the law of 
suggestion and its practical application cannot be 
overestimated. This is true of all professions and 
in all walks of life, but especially of parents in 
the rearing of their children and most especially 
so of mothers. The feminine mind as compared 
with the masculine is subjective. Children are 
also subjective in harmony with the mental qual- 
ity of woman. Hence woman's divinely provi- 
dential adaptedness to taking loving care of them. 
The inmost soul of the true mother, as she fondles 
her babe to her bosom or talks to the prattling lit- 
tle one at her side, is in vital touch with its tender 
nature. She intuitively understands the work- 
ings of its infantile mind and it understands her. 
Every thought she imparts is ensouled in love. 
These love thoughts are impressed upon the 
child's subjective mind and remain as a treasure 
store of good to be drawn upon in all after life 
and which, above all influences, go to make up 
character. 

Of course, this is to be understood of wise and 
loving mothers. The opposite influences of ig- 
norant and vicious mothers are equally potent for 
evil. A child can be and often is made cruel or 
loving, good or vicious, truthful or untruthful, by 
being persistently told that it is so. Its tender 
mind is a sensitive plate receiving impressions 
from its environment. In view of these facts and 



Two In One 185 

considering the prevalent ignorance on this sub- 
ject, herein is afforded a most promising field for 
cultivation by women in their club work. 

"Pardon me," said Mrs. Morven, "I wish to re- 
cur to the difference between the Christ method of 
treatment and that of the mental suggestionist. 
It may be illustrated by a synopsis of a self-treat- 
ment in each, setting forth the principles of eaclg 
respectively. Here is an extract from a work on 
suggestive therapeutics. It is a physician's pre- 
scription to his patient : 

"By reason of my daily partaking of the life 
essentials, food, water, air, sunshine and exercise, 
I am increasing my mental and physical strength. 
I am growing in strength, determination, aggres- 
siveness, courage, confidence and fearlessness. I 
am gaining in health by thinking thoughts of 
health, and partaking of the life essentials. I 
drink at least two quarts of water per day and 
as I sip it, I feel assured that it will increase the 
secretions of my body, and it does effect that end. 
I am thoroughly masticating my food. It will 
increase the quantity of gastric juice and my 
stomach will perform its work of digestion prop- 
erly. All my vital organs are performing their 
functions normally and healthfully. I am becom- 
ing a strong man, in every sense of the word. I 
am a strong man now. I am hopeful and cheerful 
and filled with self-confidence, strength and ag- 



186 Two In One 

gressiveness. I am fearless and ambitious. I 
can and will be successful in everything I under- 
take. I have all the attributes of success. I suc- 
ceed because I am a success.' ' And so on indefi- 
nitely, the suggestions being varied according to 
the patient's mental and physical condition. 

It will be observed that there is not here the 
slightest hint of man 's spiritual nature or any rec- 
ognition of any life or force beyond the sphere 
of the personal mentality and will. Now, con- 
trast with this a self -treatment, by the applica- 
tion of the principles of spiritual Christianity. 
*'God is the all of substance, life, intelligence, 
power, reality. God is omnipresent; that is to 
say, the fullness of the Divine life and power is 
equally in every point in space, and not one part 
here and another there. 

I am immersed in the Divine Spirit of Love, 
Truth and Life, even as my body is immersed in 
the atmosphere. In God, I live, move and have 
being. My life, my love, my intelligence, my 
strength, are the Divine life, love, intelligence and 
power momentarily acting in and through me. 

I, in my essential spiritual self, have ever had 
being in God, as an idea in and of the Eternal One. 

This outer existence is only an outward range 
or degree of consciousness of my eternal, spiritual 
ego, bestowed upon me by the loving Father in 
order that through outer conditions of seeming 



Two In One 187 

life-in-self, in a realm of seeming outward reali- 
ties, I might be endowed with a selfhood freely 
and voluntarily exercising the Divine power, and 
thus reciprocating the Divine love as a seeming in- 
dependent being. 

The Divine Life ever seeks to flow down and 
into my outer self or me, and thereby to spirit- 
ualize me and bring me into a conscious state of 
at-one-ment with the Divine self and so to endow 
me with Divine life and power. 

My life is one with the Christ life in me, he 
being the vine and I, a branch in that vine. 

I yield myself to the Divine will. I force my 
outer thought and life into harmony with the 
promptings of the Christ within; and so the Di- 
vine life is being organized into my outer self and 
I am, even in my physical senses, becoming spir- 
itualized — a Son of God. 

The Divine life is now descending into the out- 
most degree of my bodily structure, vivifying the 
minutest cell with spiritual life. I am dwelling 
in this Divine consciousness and hence can have no 
bodily disease or weakness. My body is the 
"temple of the Holy Spirit.' ' 

By the indwelling of the Divine life and power, 
I am delivered from all bondage to natural hered- 
ity, whether of disease or of evil propensities, and 
from erroneous thought or other infestations from 



188 Two In One 

whatever source, either from the natural or the 
psychic realm. 

Dwelling in the "secret place of the most 
High," nothing can harm me, "no plague come 
nigh my dwelling." "He gives his angels charge 
over me, lest I dash my foot against a stone." 

All things work together for my good. I 
"dwell under the shadow of the Almighty," 
where no evil of earth or hell can reach me. In 
fact, resting in God as the All there is to me no 
evil in reality. 

Abiding in Christ and seeking first his King- 
dom and righteousness, all my wants of whatever 
kind are supplied. "The Lord is my Shepherd, 
I shall not want." 

There is only the one time, the now. . . In that 
I live. I am in the Christ, and the Christ is in me 
now. 

There is no age in spirit, and hence dwelling in 
the Divine life there can be to me no weakness or 
decrepitude from increasing years, but only 
abounding health and strength. 

Being in God, I am enthroned at the center 
and source of all causation. My life is God's 
life manifesting itself. Therefore my thought 
and effort in the work to which God calls me, 
become all powerful in the accomplishment of 
the ends whereunto I send them. My thoughts 



Two In One 189 

are winged messengers bearing good to others 
and returning to me laden with blessings. 

I here and now and forever take my stand as 
"porter at the door of thought/ ' freely invit- 
ing all good, but denying entrance to all evil — 
shutting out every thought and feeling of self- 
love, everything out of harmony with love to 
God and my fellow man, every claim of weak- 
ness or disease, and saying with Jesus, "Get the 
hence, Satan. " 

In fine, and all comprehensively, since my spir- 
itual self or the Divine element within me con- 
stitutes my only real being, and when awakened 
into consciousness has power to control all lower 
conditions, I hereby now and forever ally my- 
self, in love, thought, word and deed with that 
principle as the truest — the only real fact con- 
cerning me. I take sides with it against all 
alien influences of sin, disease, pain, weakness 
and death, and determinedly dispel all obstruc- 
tions of doubt and fear in order that the Divine 
force within may have free scope to work out its 
will in me and through me. Amen. 

"This is what I would call a prayer," said Mr. 
Calvin. 

"Yes," she replied. "Prayer or treatment. 
It is all the same. The object is to bring the 
mind into a conscious state of receptiveness of 
the Divine inflowing life, God being the infinite 



190 Two In One 

Giver and man the finite receiver. The attain- 
ment of such mental state is the purpose of all 
worship whether of speech, song or ritualistic ob- 
servance. The substitution of any external act 
or form for the receptive mental state is of the 
nature of idolatry.' ' 

"Assuming the recognition of the truth of 
those statements," I remarked, "prayer be- 
comes an effort to consciously realize them by the 
affirmation of them as true and forcing the 
thought and life into conformity therewith. It 
follows of course, that in so far as such realiza- 
tion is attained, we have what we seek in the 
ultimation of the Divine life in health and 
strength and all needed good. This mental 
state becoming permanent, the Divine life be- 
comes to express itself in us and through us as 
spontaneously as we breathe; and all voluntary 
effort for mental adjustment in our relations to 
God naturally ceases. 

But, of course, to one who does not recognize 
his essential inherency in God, but thinks of 
himself as a distinct personality occupying legal 
relations to his Creator, prayer becomes peti- 
tion that the things prayed for may be done for 
him and bestowed upon him, instead of being the 
operation of the Divine will in and through him. 

The 'Lord's prayer' is adapted to both mental 
states. It may be rendered affirmatively in the 



Two In One 191 

present tense thus; Thy name is being hallowed; 
thou art giving us our daily bread; thou dost 
forgive us our debts, and so on, thereby being 
adapted to the use of those who recognize the 
truth of man's essential oneness with the Di- 
vine. 

"I suggest," said Mr. Priestly, "The Spiritual 
Nature of Sex as our next subject," and so it 
was agreed. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Sex is the essential feature of man's existence, 
ihe prime fountain of his loves and the regulator 
of all his relations both here and hereafter. 

But, strange to say, that notwithstanding the 
exceeding importance of correct knowledge on 
this subject, it is that upon which, above almost 
all others, there rests the greatest darkness aris- 
ing out of the fact that its essential principle is 
not understood. 

An erroneous interpretation of Christ's saying 
that in the resurrection there is neither marry- 
ing nor giving in marriage, but they are as the 
angels, has led to a common idea among Chris- 
tians that sex is not inherent in the spiritual na- 
ture of man, but belongs only to this present 
phase of existence; or if it be carried over into 
the future, that man and woman will not be 
united in marriage relations, as husband and 
wife. 

Among the leaders of the modern woman's 
rirights movement, the idea has prevailed that 
even in this life the differences between the sexes 
in their affectional and mental characteristics, in 
their tastes, physical strength, etc., are a mere 
matter of habits of life and heredity, and all 



194 Two In One 

that is necessary to transform a woman into a 
man in these respects is to change her education 
and mode of life. 

On the question of marriage, there has been 
much confusion of thought. Monogamy not 
being established on any inherent principle, the 
marriage of one man to one woman has been re- 
garded from the standpoint merely of social ex- 
pediency, and hence the laxity in which the mar- 
ital bond is coming to be held and the increas- 
ing prevalence of divorces. 

One of the most remarkable characteristics of 
this day of marvels is the astonishing changes 
which in the last few decades have taken place 
in the status of woman, industrially, education- 
ally, socially and politically. 

Throughout all past ages she has held an in- 
ferior position to man. Among savages, she 
has been a slave and a drudge. But even among 
civilized nations, America and England for in- 
stance, up to about fifty years ago, industrially r 
there were only five or six places open to her r 
whereby she might become economically free 
from slavish dependence on man ; and these were 
mostly of a domestic nature. 

Now, however, the doors to all industries and 
professions have been thrown wide open to her 
and she is rapidly entering them in close compe- 
tition with the other sex. 



Two In One 195 

Formerly, she was assumed to be incapable, 
with rare exceptions, of receiving other than the 
rudiments of education, and it was held that any 
higher education was useless because her position 
and duties did not call for it. Hence, while boys 
were sent to college and taught in the higher 
branches of learning ,their sisters were kept at 
home and added to their slender stock of primary 
knowledge only such feminine accomplishments 
as fine needle work and a smattering of music. 

In the way of teaching, woman was thought 
capable only of taking charge of a small class of 
young children, and her labors were thought 
worthy of only a very meager wage. 

But now, not only are the colleges and univer- 
sities thrown open to her for co-education along 
with her brothers, but women's colleges abound 
for their exclusive benefit. It has come to pass 
that in the number of graduates from High and 
Normal schools the girls far surpass the boys. And 
as a teacher, woman is fast monopolizing the edu- 
cational field in all common school grades. 

Socially, she formerly counted for compara- 
tively little. In all matters of public reform, her 
influence was felt only through her husband or 
male friends; but now, through the various femi- 
nine organizations abounding, she is becoming the 
chief factor in all reform movements. 

Formerly, not only had she no voice in matters 



196 Two In One 

political and governmental, but she had almost 
no rights before the law. In her own name and 
right, she could own nothing — not her home, 
her children or even the clothes she wore. Her 
personality was merged into that of her husband 
or male relatives. She was only an annex to 
man. 

But now, she has already secured most legal 
rights equally with man and is rapidly moving 
on toward the attainment of the same voting 
franchise and office holding privileges as he. 

All this movement has been the result of 
woman's own efforts. She has seemed suddenly 
to awaken from her ages-long sleep. 

Why this awakening? Whither does it tend? 
What is the meaning of it? Is it an unmixed 
good, or are there social dangers attending it? 

These and all other important questions relat- 
ing to this subject can be answered only by an 
understanding of the essential nature of sex, and 
thus the basing of our thought on its eternal 
principle. We must get back to God. Man is 
God's image and likeness. In God, then, we 
must look for those profound qualities which are 
exfigured in man in his sex nature. 

God is dual Love and Wisdom. This duality 
is expressed throughout all creation. It is ex- 
hibited in the light and heat of the sun; in the 
positive and negative qualities of electricity and 



Two In One 197 

in the chemical forces, which by their union con- 
stitute the matters of the globe. The dualism of 
sex is the most prominent feature of living organ- 
isms and prevails from the vegetable to man, cul- 
minating in him in the personalities and union 
of man and woman in marriage. 

We read in Genesis: "So God created man 
in his own image, in the image of God created he 
him; male and female created he them." 

God being the Infinite Cause and His creation 
the effect, and the effect being no other than an 
expression of the cause, all nature, each thing 
in measure according to its quality must bear the 
lineaments of the Creator. As already noted, 
this is exemplified in the duality that everywhere 
prevails; but in man supremely as the crowning 
work of God, the full and complete manifestation 
of the Divine Author. 

The positive and negative attractions of the in- 
organic forces become sex attraction in the or- 
ganic world, and in man, on the higher plane of 
development, they manifest themselves between 
man and woman as spiritual love divested of the 
lower and grosses features of sensuous attrac- 
tion. 

The nature of this spiritual attraction will ap- 
pear by considering the essential qualities which 
distinguish and differentiate the sexes from each 
other. The fundamental factors constituting the 



198 Two In One 

personality of both men and women are the 
power of loving and of thinking. Love formu- 
lates itself in thought and flows outward in will. 
Or, which is the same thing, each man and each 
woman is made up of two factors, viz.: the 
faculty of receiving truth and that of receiving 
love from the Infinite Fountain of Love and Wis- 
dom. But the sexes differ in the manner and 
quality of receiving. Woman is so constituted 
as in external form and function to emphasize 
love; and man, truth. The attraction of the 
masculine elament in him to the feminine ele- 
ment in her, which we term sex-love, is, essen- 
tially that of the truth being attracted to its 
mate, love. Just as God is Love and Wisdom 
in unity, so the love between man and woman, 
the recipients in form of the Divine Life, is but 
the manifestation of the Infinite Father-Mother 
love and wisdom in his children seeking unity. 

The Divine Love and Wisdom is a central sun 
of life radiating outward and expressing itself 
or himself in creation. From eternity, the Ab- 
solute One has existed as Love and Wisdom ex- 
pressed in spiritual form or forms termed in 
John's Gospel, the Word, and through or by 
means of the Word all the visible universe of 
sense appearances have form and existence. All 
the phenomenal worlds with their manifold 
spatial expressions, are, in fact, but the types 



Two In One 199 

of the antitypal or spiritual forms of the eternal 
Word. 

"In the beginning," runs the record, "was the 
Word, and the Word was with God and the Word 
was God. All things were made by Him and 
without Him was there not anything made that 
was made." 

Infinite Love from eternity joined with In- 
finite Wisdom — God as a duality — manifested 
itself in an infinitude of spiritual dual forms in 
his image and likeness. This Logos or Word is 
only another name for universal man, and the 
spiritual forms inherent therein are individual 
men whose ultimate destiny is to be evolved by 
birth into time and space consciousness as out- 
ward personalities, in whom the Divine perfec- 
tions are to be ultimated, as exemplified in the 
person of the Christ, the typical and ideal man, 
"The Word made flesh." 

What we term creation is the outbirth of 
these eternally existent individualities into outer 
planes of consciousness, in appearances of fixed 
time and space, such as that in which we find 
ourselves in our present state of existence. 

But in the assumption by natural birth of this 
outer consciousness, the eternally two-fold indi- 
vidual becomes two seemingly separate and dis- 
tince personalities, the love element of the eter- 



200 Two In One 

lally two-in-one taking on the form of woman 
and the truth element that of man. 

In our present natural or personal conscious- 
ness, which * ' discerneth not the things of the 
Spirit," these two personalities do not and can- 
not certainly recognize their eternal unity. In- 
deed, in the flesh they may never meet or become 
personally acquainted. 

While, in fact, this present personal state is 
merely a projection of the real man into outer 
planes of thought and feeling, it appears to this 
outer consciousness as real in itself. The ac- 
ceptance and confirmation of this seeming for 
the real is the eating of the forbidden fruit, the 
direful results of which have cursed our race 
from the beginning. But when two personalities, 
the woman and the man, who have been eternally 
one in spirit, come to themselves in God, as all 
eventually will — when they " awake in his like- 
ness," they know themselves to be one. 

This outward plane of existence which I term 
the personality is bestowed never to be lost. It 
forms the matrix into which a consciousness of 
the Divine is born so that the extremest outer 
senses become instinct with a realized indwell- 
ing of Divinity. God comes to tabernacle with 
man. 

In this final perfected state, the husband be- 
holds in his wife evermore, his externalized love- 



Two In One 201 

self, and the wife sees in her husband her wis- 
dom-self in external visible form. Hence their 
love of each other becomes in its deepest ground 
the love of self, and the love of God as manifest in 
each other; and so their union to each other be- 
comes one and the same as their union with God. 
This is the Divine marriage of which we read in 
the Scriptures, "the marriage of the lamb is 
come, and the bride hath made herself ready. " 
Hence, also, we see the meaning of the Lord's 
saying that "in the resurrection, they neither 
marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the 
angels." As Browning, the poet, puts it: 

"Be as the angels rather who, apart, 
know themselves unto one, are found at length 
married, but marry never ; no, nor given in 
marriage; they are man and wife at once, 
when the true time is." 

It will readily be perceived that the love aris- 
ing out of the spiritual duality of man and woman 
in God is the Divine Fountain of all human af- 
fections — is the very life of man's life in all out- 
ward manifestations. It is the holy of holies in 
man, the immediate point of Divine influx into 
man, the sacred place of meeting of man with 
God. It is the source of the inexpressible joys 
of the Saint's raptured communion with God, of 
the mother's tender affection, of friendship's 



202 Two In One 

holy bonds, and of all pure matrimonial felicities. 
And these beatitudes, as experienced in their 
highest degree in our present unperfected state, 
are but the faintest shadow of that heavenly 
bliss which eternally flows from fully realized 
oneness in spirit, whereby the door is fully opened 
in mind and heart to the Divine influx and Di- 
vine indwelling, the very body to the outmost 
bounds of sense becoming God's holy tabernacle. 

Since this is the highest, the most sacred, the 
very central fountain of all loves, it follows that 
its profanation or the violation of its funda- 
mental laws of monogamy and purity is the most 
far reaching and hurtful of all sins. And the 
history of our race bears out this statement. 
Sexual lust resulting in promiscuity and marital 
infidelity has ever been the very pandora's box 
out of which have poured the chief woes of our 
race. 

The violation of law in the sex relation was 
manifestly the prime element in man's original de- 
parture from the way of life, as plainly appears 
upon the surface of the Edenic narrative. By 
his acceptance of the sense world and the ap- 
pearance of life-in-self as an absolute reality, the 
spiritual was shut out from his perception, the 
aense of spiritual oneness of husband and wife 
was lost, and hence the relation between them 
became purely external. As it is written, "Adam 



Two In One 203 

fell into a deep slumber (as regards spiritual con- 
sciousness) and a wife meet for him in his lonely- 
state was constructed from a rib, taken from his 
side. That is to say, in this outer sense rela- 
tion, the very substance of his wife's being became 
to him lifeless bone as contrasted with the vital, 
spiritual relation which he had forfeited ; and her 
oneness with him became a mere external sense 
unity — " bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,' ' 
instead of soul of his soul and spirit of his 
spirit. 

From that day to this, the Adam sleep has 
rested upon the race and to awaken him from 
which was the mission and work of the Christ. 
Whosoever believeth in him, receives power 
thereby to become a Son of God — that is, through 
union with him, the consciousness is opened into 
the realm of reality whereby man perceives him- 
self as the eternal Son of God. 

We read, that following the loss of conscious 
oneness in God, the woman being beguiled by the 
serpent of sense, partook of the forbidden fruit, 
that is, indulged the desire and belief of life and 
power in and of self and sense, and so she gave 
to her husband and he did eat. The affections 
(the woman) influenced the intellect (the man) 
thus the entire man making the fatal plunge into 
the pool of sensualism. 

Woman in her dual relation to man being in 



204 Two In One 

form and function love, and he truth, thus she 
being the soul and inspiration of his thought, 
and he being the formulator and executor of 
her loves, it was inevitable that she should lead 
and he follow in the original transgression. But 
now in their sensualized state, to have allowed 
the affections to lead and govern would have 
been for the race to have forever continued its 
downward course. It became necessary, there- 
fore, for man (truth), the intellect enlightened 
from moral and spiritual precepts inculcated from 
without, to take the lead and force the affections 
to follow. And so it has ever been. Truth has 
been constrained in the interests of order to hold 
the reins over the loves in the individual; and 
similarly, man has ever dominated woman, not 
as has been assumed merely because he is phys- 
ically more powerful than she, but because in 
the present sensualized state of the race it has 
been a necessity. 

But the time is coming when the consciousness 
of our humanity shall have become spiritualized, 
when the love element shall come to imbue the 
truth element with good only and woman will 
again take her rightful place as man's unerring 
inspiration, and they shall co-operate as co-ordi- 
nate factors in perfect harmony. 

There are significant signs that we are at least 
in the dawn of this new day. The woman move- 



Two In One 205 

ment so-called, the awakening of the feminine 
mind to an active interest in the purification and 
elevation of the individual, the social, the do- 
mestic and political relations and conditions, and 
the prominence which the feminine quality — love 
— is assuming in the realm of moral and religious 
thought and activities, all plainly point to the re- 
enthronement of love in its true place as the soul 
and center of the world's life. 

Naturally, in this awakening of woman from 
her long sleep, neither she nor her brother man 
sees very clearly what it all means or whereunto 
it tends, and mistakes will be made. The pen- 
dulum in its swing will go too far and in wrong 
directions, but the gravitating force of truth will 
eventually bring and hold it within its true 
limit. 

Woman is from center to circumference — from 
the inmost spiritual degree of her being, to the 
outmost natural degree — different in quality of 
thought and feeling from man, and by reason of 
this difference is possessed of different powers, or 
rather of the same powers modified in measure 
and quality, and hence adapted to separate, if 
not dissimilar duties in the domestic and social 
relations. In general she is the soul and inspira- 
tion, while man is the formulator and executor. 
She is the hidden spring of the clock-work of 
society, while man is the face and external indi- 



206 Two In One 

cator. Her world is within the home shelter in 
the sphere of domesticity; man's is in the outer 
world of business, politics and finance. She sees 
truth from the standpoint of good or love; he 
sees good from the standpoint of truth. She 
is primarily affectional and he primarily intel- 
lectual. She can go out and with a measure of suc- 
cess compete with him in his proper realm, just 
as he can after a fashion do her work; but they 
are each out of place and harmony in so doing. 
She can keep pace with him in some exceptional 
instances in the highest reaches of his intellectual 
efforts and processes, and can generally compel 
herself to pursue successfully the same studies 
and the same work in life, but it will be at the 
expense of her essentially feminine qualities. She 
can prepare herself for teaching the higher 
ranges of scientific and philosophic thought and 
occupy creditably prominent places therein, as for 
example the position of University Professor of 
Mathematics or cognate subjects; but she is not 
adapted by nature for such work. 

A sufficient proof of this is seen in the fact 
that the habits acquired by a few years of such 
life largely disqualify her for the position of 
home-keeper, as wife and mother, the place above 
all to which by her essential constitution and 
tastes she is called. 

One evil incident to the present woman move- 



Two In One 207 

ment, resulting from her becoming economically 
independent of man, is already manifest in a no- 
table decrease of inspiration and aspiration 
among young men. The girls are coming for- 
ward and taking the places of the boys and 
placing themselves thereby in a state of antag- 
onism such as drives the sexes apart in their true 
relations, and thus the feminine inspiration being 
withdrawn, the boys are left to drift into careless 
and easy-going lives. 

To illustrate, take the individual man or 
woman. There must be a unity between the 
affectional and the intellectual elements in order 
to practical efficiency. Without the inspiration 
of the love element an individual becomes lacking 
in energy and a mere thinking machine, so far 
as he thinks at all; and without the control and 
direction of the intellect, the loves run riot into 
all sorts of disorders. 

But society is one as the individual man is one, 
woman being the love or inspirational element, 
and man the intellectual. The withdrawal of 
woman from all economic dependence on man 
places her in a positive attitude toward him, and 
thus divorces the masculine and the feminine ele- 
ments in the body politic. The result is the lack 
of feminine inspiration of the masculine, thereby 
leaving man comparatively inert and aspiration- 
less, and woman without masculine guidance. 



208 Two In One 

For a time the love force of woman's essential 
nature will speed her along to the outstripping 
of man, and the exhilarating newness of her po- 
sition, together with old habits of thought, will 
uphold her moral integrity ; but it is only a ques- 
tion of time when her loves, lacking the mascu- 
line guidance will take the reins in their hands 
end drive into disorderly ways. 

And what will add to this tendency will be 
abounding celibacy. The marriage state will be- 
come distasteful and unpopular among women. 
Already signs are ominous of danger here. The 
rising tide of bachelordom among women looks 
in that direction. A woman accustomed to that 
independence which accompanies a prosperous 
business career, forms habits and tastes averse 
to the dependence of her position in the mar- 
riage relation with its accompanying state of 
motherhood and domesticity. But whatever dis- 
courages marriages leads to demoralization. The 
question bandied around in the newspapers some 
time ago "Is marriage a failure V is nonsense. 
Can any design or institution of the Almighty 
fail? 

The sex nature is all impelling and will have its 
way. The marriage relation is its normal, God 
Ordained expression. This is the law, and we 
violate it at our peril. 

If the principle of duality of man and woman 



Two In One 209 

in spirit is true, it is only from this standpoint 
that we can arrive at a correct knowledge of the 
true relations of the sexes. Since all sexual at- 
traction is but the outward manifestation of the 
principle of the eternal unity of man and woman, 
it follows that all true marriages of persons in 
this world must have for its motive, object and 
inspiration towards and a desire for the reali- 
zation of that eternal spiritual oneness. 

Hence, all marriages or sex relations, for con- 
venience, for sense gratification or with any other 
end in view not in consonance with the perma- 
nent spiritual relation, is a violation of this fun- 
damental law of our being. The one and only 
law that sanctifies such relations is that the par- 
ticipants therein are so drawn together in love 
affinity as to feel themselves to be essentially one 
and having, therefore, an instinctive repugnance 
to union with any other. This is true marriage. 

Fidelity to this law of monogamy and per- 
manency in thought and act is obedience to the 
highest and most sacred principle of our nature, 
and is attended with the most beneficent results; 
while from infidelity thereto, flows the direst of 
evils. Such infidelity on the part of husband or 
wife is a breaking of the bond of connection be- 
tween them and constitutes in itself divorce. 

And surely in this light, the compulsory union 
of a man and a woman between whom, for any 



210 Two In One 

cause, there is not nor can be any marriage af- 
finity, is a great wrong. It is in fact, compul- 
sory adultery. 

The interior truth on this subject was one, if 
not the chief of the many things which Christ 
said, "his age was not able to bear." However,, 
the fact that this truth is now opening to us im- 
plies that the time has come for its utterance 
and that there are those who have ears to hear. 

In the present state of the race mere external 
unions with their resultant evils cannot be 
avoided. Purity in sexual relations can no more 
be secured by legislative enactments than can 
honesty in business matters. We can only hedge 
around these relations by such legal enactments 
as will tend to mitigate the evils arising from 
them. 

But as the race advances in spiritual percep- 
tion it will become the rule instead of probably 
now the exception, for eternal dual individuali- 
ties to gravitate into personal unity in marriage 
and then, of course, divorces and sexual immor- 
alities will cease. 

It will be the rule for a man and a woman who 
have been eternally one in the heavens to gravi- 
tate unerringly to each other in this world and 
know themselves as one. 

There may be such unions now. The beauti- 
ful blending of two lives into one as exhibited 



Two In One 211 

in the case of Browning, the poet, and his wife, 
the Fletchers and others whose biographies have 
been given us, indicate a union deeper than any 
that can pertain to mere sense, and are pointers 
to a better day coming. 

In the meantime, marriages are substitutionary 
of the eternal spiritual union. Fidelity therein 
is the foundation of the spiritual. It is fidelity 
to the supreme law of being, and thus funda- 
mental to all that is good, true or noble in hu- 
manity. 

Since the human body is only the visible man- 
ifestation of the mental man, in all his functions, 
we should expect spiritual conjugality, if true, 
to be somehow ultimated therein. Granting that 
sex is primarily spiritual, the complete individual 
being constituted of a love and a truth form in 
eternal unity in God, and further granting that 
the phenomenal is the exfiguration on the sense 
plane of the spiritual, it follows that the physical 
organism is an outward symbol of such spiritual 
relation. 

Accordingly we find a duality running through 
the entire corporeal structure. First, the brain 
is divided into two hemispheres and is composed 
of two substances, a grey or vesicular and a white 
or fibrous matter, all nervous impulses originat- 
ing in the former and conducted by the latter. 
Again, the organs throughout the body run in 



212 Two In One 

pairs, as heart and lungs, liver and kidneys, right 
and left, hand and foot, and so. All this is the 
visual expression of the two mental elements of 
affection and intellect or love and truth, not only 
in the individual man or woman, but in the 
twain made one. 

The brain is further dualized in two masses 
whose functions are distinct from each other, 
viz. : the cerebrum or the large front and top 
brain, and the cerebellum. The latter is situ- 
ated back and beneath the former and is about 
one-eighth its volume. The functions of the 
cerebellum have not been hitherto fully under- 
stood, but from what we have learned of its 
functions, taken together with its relative posi- 
tion in the bodily organism, it would seem to oc- 
cupy the same relation to the entire body that the 
conjugal faculty does to the mental man. 

It should be noted that there are three nervous 
systems corresponding to the three mental de- 
grees of spirit, soul, and body. First, there is 
the cerebro-spinal system, which is the organ of 
the outer voluntary life, composed of the cere- 
brum, the nerves of special sense, sight, hearing, 
etc., and the motor and sensory nerves which may 
be said to be an extension of the cerebrum 
throughout the body. Its fibers passing down 
through the cerebellum are gathered into a bundle 
constituting the spinal cord, and radiating thence 



Two In One 213 

ramify every minutest portion of the bodily 
structure. 

Second, along within and on each side of the 
spinal column, there extends a chain of nervous 
knots or ganglia from which proceed nervous 
cords penetrating every organ and tissue, and so 
interlacing as to form a plexus or net work within 
and around every organ. This is the sympa- 
thetic system and has been termed the brain of 
the vital economy. Its function is to vivify and 
preside over all the vital forces. It is the organ 
of the coul degree of mentality or the subjective 
mind, even as the cerebro-spinal system is the 
organ of the objective mind. 

Third, within these two systems there is a series 
of glandular bodies constituting a complete au- 
tonomy called the adrenal system. Its func- 
tions have only latterly become understood. It 
is composed of a small body situated at the base 
of the brain termed the pituary gland, together 
with the thyroid gland, the spleen and pancreas 
and the suprarenal capsules. It has been ascer- 
tained that the office of this system is primarily to 
vitalize the sympathetic system and hence is the 
organ of life's initiament in the body. Its men- 
tal correspondence is, of course, that of the in- 
most man of the spirit. 

Now, again, as to the function of the cerebel- 
lum. Being situated at the base of the larger 



214 Two In One 

brain and at the head of the spinal column, it re- 
ceives the nerve fibres from the cerebrum, cor- 
relates them in all bodily activities, and what is 
remarkable, transposes the fibers of each brain 
hemisphere to the opposite side of the body, so 
that any injury of either hemisphere reports its 
effects through the nerve fibres extending there- 
from to the opposite side of the body. The cere- 
bellum is also intimately connected, by nerve 
fibers, to both the adrenal and the sympathetic 
systems. 

It is a very significant fact bearing on the spir- 
itual correspondence of the cerebellum that the 
physical organ of sex is situated therein. 

These considerations taken together with cer- 
tain other anatomical facts well established jus- 
tify the inference that, beyond a doubt, the rela- 
tion of the cerebellum to the rest of the bodily 
organism is the same as that of the conjugal fac- 
ulty to the spiritual man. Just as the cerebel- 
lum is situated at the meeting point of the three 
nervous system and forms the nexus or medium of 
connection between them, and is thereby the 
correllator of their activities, so the faculty of 
spiritual conjugality is the center and determin- 
ing factor in all loves, emotions, and mental 
activities. In the normal action of this faculty 
are grounded all genuine manhood and woman- 



Two In One 215 

liood and all true and wholesome social relations 
and conditions. 

Love is life, and spiritual conjugality is the 
prime fountain, in God, whence all life flows. 

All this accords with revelation as has been 
already indicated. 

The Biblical representations of man's union to 
God as a marriage is more than a figure of 
speech. That angelic announcement to John on 
the isle of Patmos, "The marriage of the Lamb 
is come, and the bride hath made herself ready,' ' 
with other Scriptures of like import, have a pro- 
found significance little dreamed of by material- 
istic thought. 

If life is love, and if bodily conditions of 
health and disease are only the external regis- 
tering of mental states, what shall we say of the 
importance to woman, whose very life is love 
in external embodiment, of a normal state and an 
unobstructed outflow of her affections? Could 
we get at the root of their maladies, we would 
find that a very large percentage of the ills for 
which women daily throng the offices of physi- 
cians arise from some error here. Drugs are 
powerless to reach the seat of the trouble. The 
remedy must be spiritual. 

The practical inference from all this is that 
the supreme effort of woman, through whatever 
means at her command, should be directed to the 



216 Two In One 

purifying of this prime fountain. Without this, 
nothing else is worth while. While strenuously 
guarding against any lowering of the hitherto 
high standard of purity she has held for herself, 
she should demand of man conformity to the same 
standard. Her club associations for self-culture 
in the study of literature, and her efforts for 
social and civic betterment, etc., while good and 
helpful, are really only training schools in co- 
operation and thus a making ready for this more 
vital work of rectifying sex relations. 

Woman being the soul of society, her collect- 
ive will is the inspiration and arbiter of all social 
conditions. She has only to learn to know what 
ought to be and, therefore, what she wants 
should be, and then unitedly make her demands, 
and it will be. 



Remark: In the manuscript before me, several 
additional lectures here intervene dealing with 
our race history, in which the race is repre- 
sented as evolving outwardly from its original 
subjective mental state in the Adamic people to 
an extreme external state of sense-consciousness 
and mental perception, at the advent of Christ, 
like unto the passage of a planet in its orbit from 
its perihelion to its aphelion distance from the 
sun. 

At Christ's coming, termed in the Scriptures, 



Two In One 217 

the fullness of time, the race evolution is repre- 
sented as having reached the farthest point out- 
ward in its orbit, and thence under the new life- 
impulse received from the risen Redeemer, be- 
ginning its return to its primal consciousness of 
nearness to the Divine Sun. Not, however, to 
resume its original mental and spiritual status. 
It began its career as an inexperienced babe in the 
negative innocence of ignorance as respects the 
natural powers or selfhood; it returns, freighted 
with its ages of experience and resultant charac- 
ter, as a full developed personality in the posi- 
tive innocence of matured wisdom. 

In other words, the history of our humanity is 
sketched from the view-point of a Divine incar- 
nation in man through the Christ, as the Divinely 
predetermined and directed end and object of our 
race-existence and development. 

But by reason of the limits prescribed for the 
present volume these lectures are omitted, and 
so we bid adieu to Mr. Calvin and the other 
friends, and confine ourselves for the rest, to the 
further experiences of Mr. and Mrs. Morven. 



CHAPTER XII. 

During the period of our weekly meetings, Mrs. 
Morven seemed to dwell in a sphere of abstrac- 
tion. Much of the time she spent in her room 
in a reclining posture, wrapped in meditation so 
profound as to render her oblivious to the outer 
world, occasionally rising and seizing her pen to 
record the thoughts coursing through her brain. 

After each meeting, she would perhaps ask a 
fuller statement of certain points ; but beyond this 
we talked little of the subjects under considera- 
tion. 

I became anxious to learn the nature of her med- 
itations and the results. 

Having returned to our rooms after the final 
meeting, sitting down by me she took my hand 
in hers, and looking at me earnestly, said, "Rob- 
ert, my love, I must talk with you as a means of 
relief from the pressure of thought and feeling. 
I have followed you in your broad outline sketch- 
es, and as best I could, have sought to fill in the 
details. 

In listening to you, I have constantly had the 
strange feeling that it was really myself speak- 
ing in and through you. Your utterances ap- 
peared as merely the formulation of what I had 



Two In One 219 

always known. It was, as though the inner- 
most recesses of my being had been thrown open, 
and my thought-self were pouring forth its hidden 
treasures. 

Or, again, the seeming has been as if you were 
engaged in erecting a house for me, planned by 
myself, each stone of which was a living part of 
myself; and yet as if the completed structure 
were identical with you — your very self becom- 
ing the house of my habitation. ' ' 

"This is the legitimate expression in you of 
our essential Spiritual unity, I replied. Now a 
matter of business. I have purchased Mr. 
Clark's ranch, near my mines, where Roberta and 
I spent our years in the mountains. All these 
material things are ours — not mine. My busi- 
ness calls me hence, for a time. This call is to 
you also is it not?" 

"Of course, Robert, and I am delighted at the 
prospect. Is it not strange how our external 
lives are ordered? Gradually, from the ends of 
the earth, we are drawn together. Now, I in- 
terpret our making our home in a mountain to 
symbolize our unity and joint ascent into a higher 
range of spiritual experience. ' f 

"Doubtless you are correct, my Dear. The 
mental and spiritual states are a causal force tend- 
ing ever to seek or produce harmonious environ- 
ment. In the spiritual spheres the environments 



220 Two In One 

of landscape, of sea, mountain and plain — the 
dwellings and clothing of the inhabitants and 
other general features of their habitations, are ex 
exact correspondential symbols of their fixed 
character ; whilst the evanescent phenomena, such 
as the flowers that spring up around their vision 
are expressive of the passing thought of the be- 
holder. 

All the phenomenal world, in form, color and 
feature, is the outbirthing of mental states and 
thereby becomes an open book in which the 
mutual relations with the thoughts and feelings of 
all and each are momentarily recorded for their 
delighted reading. In general, the same is true 
of the physical realm. Taking the entire world 
in its complex relations and conditions, it is the 
exact representation of the mental states of its 
immediate inhabitants in connection with that of 
the environing Spiritual Sphere with which its 
life is connected. But the natural is compara- 
tively inert and slow of change and movement, 
corresponding to the fixedness of materialistic 
sense thought. 

There is, however, a constant conatus tending 
to mold external conditions into harmony with 
each one's changing states. The workings of this 
law are seen in such things as the associations, 
the homes and the environments of people, all of 
which are expressive of their character. And 



Two In One 221 

could we read it, we would in the lifetime fixed- 
ness in one place of some, and the flitting from 
place to place of others, with all the variety of 
changing relations, find an outward expression of 
mental states. 

We make a change of residence from the north 
to the South, from East to West, from city to 
country, from mountain or plain to oceanside, — 
all such things have a mental significance. The 
prime cause of these changes is to be found in a 
mental change seeking corresponding physical en- 
vironment. 

On this general principle, I think we may inter- 
pret our changes of place and condition. Through 
all the years preceding our union, a spiritual at- 
traction has been drawing us toward each other; 
and each phase of our lives has been for the time 
an outward expression of our mental states in 
relation to each other and to humanity. As our 
development has advanced our outer states have 
become more and more assimilated and all un- 
consciously to ourselves the lines of our external 
lives were proportionally approximating till final- 
ly they met and blended into one." 

Again, one evening, before a cozy fire in our 
mountain home, my wife nestled down by me and 
in a low voice and mysterious manner said, ' ' Rob- 
ert, there are certain experiences in my life that I 
have held too sacred for utterance in common 
speech, and I could not bring myself to speak of 



222 Two In One 

them even to you. But now I feel that the time 
has come for at least a partial unsealing of my 
lips. 

My secret is, that from my earliest recollection 
I have, at times, had open vision, seeing things 
and holding communion with people invisible to 
the natural eye. 

In my childhood, I saw and familiarly played 
with children invisible to all but myself, and had 
visions of beautiful gardens and lovely people 
which were as real to me as anything seen with 
ordinary sight. My parents reproved me and 
forbade my speaking of these experiences, and so 
I learned to close myself against them. They 
had comparatively ceased for a number of years 
previous to your conversion. On that occasion, 
'whether, (as the Apostle puts it), 'in the body 
or out of the body, God knoweth,' I rose above 
the sense world and stood alone with you in the 
beatific presence of our Heavenly Father. In 
that supernal light our souls were blended as one 
— one life — one love — one thought — one will. 

The sense world reasserted its sway ; the vision 
passed, but its impression remained. This ex- 
perience was only the first of a series of visions 
connecting me with you during the entire period 
of our separation. By comparing dates, I find 
that at critical points of your life as you have 
recounted them to me, I was by vision brought 
into rapport with you. One thing, however, 



Two In One 223 

pnzzles me about these experiences. I always 
seemed to be sent as your guide, or helper. Per* 
haps this has been one reason for my hesitation 
to tell you of them. For instance, I once dreamed 
of having been sent, by the Lord, to recall you 
from the spirit world, whither you had previously 
departed. In my dream, it seemed perfectly 
natural for me to go on this strange mission. 
Addressing myself to the task, I was by unseen 
hands lifted and borne along, and set down at 
your side in a desolate region of semi-darkness. 
Having announced to you that you should return 
to earth, I awoke. For the time I gave the 
dream no thought, supposing it to have been 
merely the vagary of disturbed sleep. But when 
you related your trance-experience, which, on 
examination, I found to have been synchronous 
with my dream, I concluded that there was more 
in the matter than mere coincidence. 

Again, about the time you went to the moun- 
tains and met Professor N., I in vision not only 
saw you go, but seemed to accompany you, and 
to be the means of bringing you and him together. 

Then, at the time of your spiritualistic expe- 
rience, I found you in a dark, boggy wood, and 
piloted you out into the highway. 

Once more, about the time you left for Cali- 
fornia, I rescued you from drowning. 

Finally, when we both arrived in California 



224 Two In One 

and yon were free from your troubles, I saw you 
in your mountain home and rejoiced with you. 

These things I did not understand, but, like 
Mary, laid them up in my heart. 

Then, when I met you in Oakland, I was again 
transported in the spirit and saw you as my own. 
You will not wonder, therefore, that when I heard 
from your lips the narrative of your life, the 
striking oeincidence between my visitations and 
your experiences filled me with awe. I felt like 
saying, with Jacob of old, "God is in this place 
and I knew it not/' 

My intromissions into spiritual sight have also 
frequently brought me face to face with inhabi- 
tants of the spirit world. Several times I have 
held communion with my father and mother, and 
once with your mother. However strange this 
may all seem to you, it has become to me a com- 
monplace occurrence almost as little to be noted as 
association with people of the natural world." 

"My dear," I exclaimed, there is nothing sur- 
prising in the fact of your open relations to the 
unseen world. That is the normal state of hu- 
manity in the higher ranges of development. In 
the latter days, we are told, God will pour out 
his spirit upon all flesh and the sons and daugh- 
ters of men shall prophesy, young men shall see 
visions, and old men shall dream dreams. Your 
experience is but the partial fulfillment in your 
case of that prophecy." 



Two In One 225 

"Now," she continued, "I am going to speak 
■of a fact that will especially please if not sur- 
prise you. When you first spoke to me of Pro- 
fessor N. and of his death, a gentleman appeared 
standing at your right hand, and bowing to me 
said, "I am Professor N." My emotions were 
such that I almost cried out. But he forbade 
my speaking of it, saying that the time had not 
come for me to make these disclosures. 

And further, this same gentleman has been in- 
timately associated with you in all your talks. 
In fact, he stands by you at this moment, and 
smilingly asks to be recognized. ' ' 

"I am sure that if the gentleman is really my 
old friend and teacher, Professor N., there is 
nothing that could give me more joy than a 
realization of his presence. Will you describe 
him to me?" 

"He says that he has grown more youthful in 
appearance than when you saw him in the flesh, 
but for the sake of recollection he will appear 
as he then was seen by you. He seems to be a 
man of medium height, with short, full auburn 
beard, clear blue eyes, set rather far apart, high 
square forehead, light hair worn somewhat long, 
full rounded chin and Grecian nose. His head 
is high and broad across and back of the tem- 
ples, and sets squarely upon broad shoulders. His 
<jhest is full, and he seems to be of rather mus- 
cular build. I should suppose he would weigh 



226 Two In One 

one hundred and seventy pounds. He wears a 
suit of gray and his coat is cut in Prince Albert 
style. His hat is low, of light color and broad 
brim. ' ' 

"Well, that description fits Professor N. We 
will take it for granted that it is he. I should 
like to talk to him." 

"The gentleman says he also wishes to talk to 
you. ' ' 

"First, my dear friend," I said, "I should like 
to have you give me some acount of yourself 
since, in the providence of God, you were called 
away from earth life." 

"Let me correct your expression," he replied. 
I haven't been called away from participation in 
earth life, if that is what you mean. For you 
see here I am, and have been, as your wife testi- 
fies, for some time past, most decidedly co-oper- 
ating in the affairs of this world. You would 
be surprised to learn to what an extent I have 
been privileged and empowered to aid you in your 
investigations. ' ' 

"I am overwhelmed with the thought,' ; I ex- 
claimed. 

' ' Well, he continued, ' ' to answer your question : 
on the sinking of our ship I experienced a smoth- 
ering sensation for a few moments, which was 
followed by a feeling of exhilaration. This con- 
tinued until I felt myself released from my body 
and carried seemingly quite a distance, I know 



Two In One 227 

not how far. I took no note of time. With my 
eyes closed, I lay in a state of ecstatic content, 
free from all care and anxiety. Eventually, 
however, my motion stopped; and for a time I 
quietly reposed. Then I felt a soft touch as of 
some kindly hand removing from my right eye 
a film, then followed the same experience with the 
left eye. A mild light dawned upon me; I 
opened my eyes and saw. 

There stood before me one whose countenance 
was familiar. I seemed to know him well. He 
smiled, and reaching forth his hand raised me to 
my feet. I then found myself in the presence of 
three others, all of whom were as old acquaint- 
ances, but whose names I was for the moment 
unable to recall. 

My surroundings were much the same as those 
to which I had been accustomed; so, that at first, 
I was under the impression that in some mysteri- 
ous way I had been carried back to my old home. 
But gradually I was led to the knowledge that 
I was now in the spirit realm, and no longer an 
inhabitant of the natural world. 

My attendants proved to be my guardian 
angels. I was not unprepared for this revela- 
tion, for I had read and believed Swedenborg's 
statement about the attendance upon every one 
during his natural existence and for a time after 
his advent into the spirit-world, of four angels— 
two of whom are principled in the truth and two 



228 Two In One 

in the good — whom he terms respectively spiritual 
and celestial angels. 

One of each class came forward, the spiritual 
angel grasping me by the left hand, the celestial 
angel, by the right hand; the former, kissing me 
on the left cheek, said, "Welcome, brother, enter 
thou into thy inheritance of heavenly knowl- 
edge.' ' The other, kissing me on the right cheek, 
repeated, "Welcome, brother, enter thou into the 
joys of fraternal love." Then the other two 
saluted me similarly, the one saying, "Enter thou 
into the treasures of heavenly wisdom ; ' ' the other 
"Enter thou into the ineffable delights of Divine 
love." Their touch thrilled me with a bound- 
ing joyous love, and an aspiration for goodness 
and truth such as my imagination had never, in 
earthly life, conceived. 

"Now, my brother," continued the angel of 
wisdom, "you need but little further instruction 
from us. It has been our delight to attend you 
thus far. You will have other guides and in- 
structors as you need them. You know that you 
are now in the spirit world — the ante-chamber to 
your future abode. You are aware that your 
experiences now for a time will be simply a pro- 
gressive unfolding of your central and innermost 
love and the resultant laying aside of all mental 
and affectional states not in harmony therewith. 
The Divine light shining into your heart will lay 
bare to your perception whatever is discordant 



Two In One 229 

with your prime love, and you will naturally 
throw it off as an unfitting garment. You will 
gradually become, in every fibre of your being, 
attuned to this keynote. This is the judgment 
world, where the book of each man's life is 
opened and his character revealed, fulfilling 
Christ's words, ' There is nothing hid that shall 
not be revealed." I need not say to you that 
you have naught to fear, nor need I point you to 
the Divine Source of all good. You have only 
to look to Him and ask, and your wants, what- 
ever they may be, will be supplied. Your only 
concern as a neophyte is to follow your inclina- 
tions" And in a moment, I was alone. 

Naturally, the desire arose to learn something 
of my whereabouts and environments, and with 
the desire came its fulfillment. A gentleman ap- 
proached me and said, "I am at your service. 
Come with me, and you will learn what you wish 
to know." 

I took a step in walking, but found myself, with 
the effort of the will, lifted up and borne along. 
My guide, with a pleasant smile, said, "You will 
find your means of locomotion much easier and 
more rapid here than in the natural world. If 
you wish to see anyone or to go to another place, 
however distant, you have only to fix your mind 
on the person or place, and at once you will find 
yourself being transported thither with a speed 
corresponding to the intensity of your desire. And 



230 Two In One 

when you have thus been brought face to face 
with any one and the purpose of your meeting 
has been accomplished, you will at once recede 
from each other's presence and return to your 
own place." 

"This accounts for the sudden disappearance 
of my guardian angels just before I met you," I 
replied. 

"We soon approached a city, which my guide 
called Centropolis. It was a city of schools and 
colleges of learning. It was the metropolis of 
that portion of the spirit realm, and the entrepot 
for all new comers. Here were gathered all 
classes and conditions of humanity, from the 
angel to the devil. Here every one readily at- 
tained the knowledge adapted to his character 
and condition, and was started on his way to the 
region for which he was fitted. Radiating in all 
directions, were avenues leading all to their des- 
tinations, whether to the abodes of good or of 
evil. The central love of each pointed, as the 
needle to the magnet, the direction he should take 
and drew him thither. And each one found 
along his route just those aids that were neces- 
sary to enable him to enter into the fullness of 
his prime love, and to lay aside all things not 
in harmony therewith. 

I will not now detain you by details of my ex- 
perience in Centropolis. Suffice it that ere long 
an overwhelming desire for the Divine presence 



Two In One 231 

possessed me. The words of the Psalmist ex- 
pressed my feeling, "As the hart panteth after 
the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, 

God. My soul thirsteth for God, yea, for the 
living God. When shall I come and appear be- 
fore God?" 

Far to the East, on a mountain top, glistened 
the towers and minarets of a city toward which 

1 was impelled to travel. But, at first, my way 
was not clear. Most avenues leading from Cen- 
tropolis were broad and spacious; but the gate 
was straight and the way narrow that led out to 
the city of my quest. However, that way I 
took, with a few others of like mind. My de- 
sire soon brought me hither, and I was met at 
the gate with cheers and paeons of rejoicing of 
friends who had preceded me — mother, father, 
and other loved ones. It seems that the news of 
my coming had preceded me. 

But one there was who met me, dearer than all 
others. 

In my youth, the Lord had blessed me with the 
love of a dear one ; but on the eve of our intended 
marriage she was taken from me. She died 
asking me to meet her in the beyond. All my 
soul's love, all my capacity to love as a husband, 
went with her. I never married. As time 
passed and I learned the truth of the spiritual 
unity of two souls in God, I felt surely my de- 
parted Eunice was my eternal counterpart. With 



232 Two In One 

intense eagerness, I sought her beloved face 
among my welcoming friends. I soon beheld her 
but a few feet from me — and locked in each 
other's arms, the heavens opened and I came face 
to face with God. I need not describe to you 
the experience. 

This city is the ante-room of the New Heavens. 
Here she had preceded me, and waited my com- 
ing. Now, as two-in-one — one angel — we as- 
sumed spiritual bodies corresponding to our spir- 
itual state, and thus entered the New Jerusalem, 
or the New Heavens, our final home. This is the 
resurrection of which the Lord speaks, and of 
which the Apostle treats in 1st Corinthians. ' ' 

"My dear, dear friend, how is this?" I cried. 
' ' The revelations of the last hour overwhelm me ! 
First, I learn that my wife — my counterpartal 
self — looks beyond me into realms of being invis- 
ible to me. Then comes my dearest and best of 
friends from the unseen world, and through her, 
talks familiarly to me of his blessed experiences ; 
whilst I, sightless and deaf, can only sit and ac- 
cept these wonderful things at second hand.' ; 

''Perhaps if you will think you can answer your 
own query," replied Professor N. 

"It dawns upon me that my limitations arise 
from my old egotism and personal self-sufficiency 
interposed between me and the light. I had fondly 
hoped it was dead." 

In the very nature of the case, it is doubtlesa 



i 4 



Two In One 233 

true that your love nature has not kept pace with 
your intellect. In your intense desire to know 
the truth, your intellect has been raised into the 
light of heaven, whilst the love capacity has been 
comparatively dwarfed. Thus in spite of your 
clear intellectual perception of God as the only 
good, your entire conscious life has been tinctured 
with the falsity of self-derived intelligence. And 
now that you have come to realize the spiritual 
love of yourself as personalized in your wife, 
your perception of her in this relation is yet 
more largely intellectual than affectional. You 
are yet on the outside of the temple of truth. 

Your wife, on the other hand, not having your 
native egotism to contend with, and having in- 
herited into peculiarly propitious conditions, has 
in God's providence been your invisible helper 
all through life, and now in the fullness of her 
love development receives and enters into the 
body of your truth. Her loves have become 
united in marriage to your truth. She has en- 
tered into the marriage feast ; but you stand 
without. She feels that somewhat is wrong, but 
she has not understood just where or what it is. 
Am I not right, madam?" 

Mrs. Morven nodded assent. 

"To use your term, Professor, I intellectually 
perceive that you are correct. ButI am not 
consciously withholding myself. I cannot will 
myself into love. By will, one ' cannot make one 



234 Two In One 

hair white or black or add one cubit to his stat- 
ure/ " 

"No, but he can will to stand where God has 
placed him, and refusing to recognize any limita- 
tions arising out of personal selfhood, allow God 
to work His will with and in him. In this way 
a man can control his affections and love or hate 
at will. In a sense he can compel himself to 
love. 

Let us consider for a moment your condition 
and privileges as you intellectually perceive 
them. 

First, you recognize and know that, from eter- 
nity, Mrs. Morven and you have been one idea 
or germ in God; she the love and you the truth 
element. 

Second, you realize that now outbirthed in the 
form of self-conscious individuals, you are none 
the less essentially one in spirit. You, looking 
at her as a person, simply behold your spiritual 
love-self made visible and tangible; and she, 
looking upon you as a person, sees her wisdom- 
self similarly projected to sense view. So much 
you intellectually perceive. 

Third, you have only practically to realize what 
you hold in theory. She sees that you are her 
wisdom, and she has largely — not fully — entered 
into her possessions; now, as she is your love, 
enter into your inheritance. Being one, what is 
hers is yours, and what is yours is hers. In full 



Two In One 235 

realization of your unity there can be no separate 
or private possessions or capacities. If you are 
shut out from powers possessed by your wife, it 
is only because you shut yourself out. 

Let me quote a passage from Swedenborg on 
this subject, not as authority, but as a clear ex- 
pression of the truth : 

* Everyone, both man and woman, has under- 
standing and will; but yet in man the under- 
standing predominates, and in woman the will 
predominates, and the character of the person is 
according to that which predominates. But in 
marriages in the heavens, there is no predomi- 
nance; for the will of the wife is also that of 
the husband, and the understanding of the hus- 
band is also that of the wife, since the one loves 
to will and to think as the other, thus mutually 
and reciprocally. Hence their conjunction in 
one. This conjunction is an actual conjunction; 
for the will of the wife enters into the under- 
standing of the husband, and the understanding 
of the husband into the will of the wife, and this 
especially when they look each other in the face/ 

This doctrine of unity of husband and wife is 
the central truth of all truths. The prime in- 
flux of the Divine into man is into the spiritual 
conjugal faculty. By recognition of God in this 
relation, a united pair receives the Divine into 
the lowest and outermost degree of the sense na- 
ture, thus vivifying and Divinizing the entire 



236 Two In One 

man in soul and body as well as in spirit. Hence 
a married pair even in the natural world may 
rise above all mere mortal conditions of pain and 
disease and death of the body, and will do so in 
the ratio in which they enter into the fullness of 
their unity in spirit, and practically realize it. 

In the failure to hold fast this truth consisted 
the fall of the Edenic pair. Upon the holding 
to this truth was conditioned their freedom from 
death. This was the tree of life in the midst 
of the garden. Now, this tree is again being 
planted in the soil of the natural world. Your- 
selves, with a few others in the world, are the 
van guard of a host that are soon to come. In 
you is to dwell, and through you is to go forth, 
a Divine power such as the world has not hitherto 
known. 

Out from recognized and practical counter- 
partal relations springs the tree of life whose 
fruit is to be for the healing of the nations,' ' 

"My dear friend, words cannot express my joy 
and gratitude — " I began, when my wife said, 
"We are alone.' ' And so it was; the mission 
to us of Professor N. for the time was ended. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The two succeeding years passed quickly and 
joyously, nothing transpiring worthy of note. 
Naturally, the subject of our thoughts and daily 
communings was that nearest our hearts, viz. : the 
wonlerful revelation which had come to us and 
its purport to the world. To our mental vision, 
spiritual, conjugal unity appeared as a well- 
spring of living water to a thirsting humanity; 
as the tree of life planted in the midst, whose 
fruit should be for the healing of the nations; 
as the lever which is to raise our race out of its 
awful sloughs of sin and debasement and usher 
in the Kingdom of God with its peace on earth 
and good will among men ; as the blessed channel 
through which should flow Divine life-giving 
health and strength; as the harbinger of that 
good time coming when the very body shall be- 
come God's tabernacle, and when all tears shall 
be wiped away and there shall be no more sorrow 
nor crying, nor pain nor death. 

How far we, who had so late in life come into 
this experience, were to be used in the further- 
ance of its glorious fruition, we did not seek to 
know; but we rejoiced in the hope of becomirg 
in some measure an exemplification of the coming 
salvation. 



238 Two In One 

I n order to do this, however, I recognized the 
necessity of a deeper spiritual unfoldment in my- 
self than I had yet experienced. I intellectually 
apprehended the truth, but was as one who had 
a view of the promised land without being able 
to enter it. There was a conscious lack of unity 
with my wife which I could not understand nor 
remove. To her deeper spiritual vision and more 
tender sensibilities, our lack of perfect unity was 
more clearly seen and more keenly felt than was 
possible with me. In fact, it became a great 
burden to her. In her dreams, she would cee 
me sinking down into mire and darkness, away 
from her sight, and would start up screaming 
with agony. All this, as afterwards proved, was 
a prevision of a coming crisis in my life. It 
began with a failure in my health. First, there 
were symptoms of kidney trouble, which was 
speedily followed by a general paralysis of the 
body by reason of which I was confined to my 
bed. 

I was mentally perturbed, also harassed by 
strange temptations, irritability, fits of sadness, 
and what was most distressing, a growing in- 
difference to my wife bordering on actual es- 
trangement and even doubts of the truth of our 
spiritual duality. I resisted as best I could these 
infernal suggestions, Mrs. Morven aiding me, but 
all to no purpose. I seemed to be bereft of all 
Divine help or sympathy. I realized the terri- 



Two In One 239 

ble purport of Christ's language to Peter, " Satan 
hath desired thee to sift thee as wheat.' * 

This state of things having continued for some 
weeks, my dear wife ministering to my wants, 
encouraging me with words of hope and cheer 
and giving me such mental treatment as was pos- 
sible under the circumstances. At last, one 
morning, I perceived tears trickling down her 
face, the first time I had even seen her thus af- 
fected. I was shocked and ashamed, and en- 
deavored to make some protest when she broke 
down altogether and said between her sobs, "0, 
Robert, this is dreadful ! I can bear it no longer. 
Your withdrawal from me has shut out the very 
light of heaven and left me in midnight dark- 
ness. ' ' 

"Well, my dear," I remarked, "what can we 
do to help ourselves V 

"Pardon me, my dear husband, the source of 
our trouble is very clear to me. We should re- 
move the cause and the effects will disappear. 

Allow me to say that your bodily condition in- 
dicates some serious defect in your practical ap- 
plication of the truth. Dominion is our birth- 
right. The truth makes free, not merely by the 
intelligent apprehension of it, but by obedience 
to it, and its embodiment in life. "Not they 
that say Lord, Lord, shall enter into the King- 
dom of Heaven, but they who do the will of my 
Father which is in Heaven." "If ye abide in 



240 Two In One 

me," says the Christ, "and my word abide in 
you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done 
unto you." But we abide in him, as he further 
says, by doing his commandments; and his com- 
mandments are summed up in love. Love out- 
flows in obedience. "If ye love me, ye will keep 
my commandments." In view of these plain 
declarations we should have no trouble in diag- 
nosing our case. I say "ours," since our rela- 
tion to each other is such that the mental states 
of the one determine those of the other. Our 
suffering is mutual. We rise or fall together. 

Pardon these suggestions. I feel that my 
place is rather to sit at your feet for instruction. 
But, in fact, I have repeated only your own oft 
reiterated thought." 

"You are right, my dear, I am a disgraceful 
example of the results of substituting theory for 
practice, and what grieves me inexpressibly, I 
am involving you in my transgression. As be- 
tween you and me, I have vacated all right to 
the position of teacher or leader. For the time, 
at least, I surrender that role to you. And it 
may be that in this, we are only following the 
Divine order. As Eve led Adam out of Para- 
dise, so in the restoration, she should lead him 
back. You are my Eve. To your leadership, I 
now surrender." 

"Very well, if it must be so. My leading 
will be directly to the great physician. We will 



Two In One 241 

take up the Gospel of John in which the Master 
so fully discloses his vital unity with man, and 
read it together as one mind, one heart, one soul, 
persistently affirming with the Father in him." 

' ' In the course of our study I was soon brought 
face to face with the conviction that I was yet 
dwelling in the middle court of the temple — the 
range of mere logical mentality. The veil was 
still closed preventing my entrance into the holy 
of holies of my being, the inner penetralia of im- 
mediate vision of God. Analyzing my thought, 
I found that with all my philosophizing, my idea 
of God had been largely that of an abstract prin- 
ciple of life, man being the expression thereof, 
somewhat as a piece of music is the expression of 
the principle of harmony. I had sought and 
loved spiritual truth in the same way that a 
scientist seeks and loves the facts and laws of 
nature. Of love towards God as a sentiment, 
which is the essential bond of unity, I had no ex- 
perience. The regarding of God only as Law or 
Principle could not, of course, be productive of 
love in any true sense. Love in its very nature 
implies a relation between beings in mutual re- 
ciprocation of the sentiment. God can be said 
to love man only as a self-conscious Being, and 
only by the recognition of the Creator as such 
self-conscious Being can man exercise love toward 
him. Herein appears the necessity to our race, 
and probably to all the peoples of the universe, 



242 Two In One 

of the 'Word made flesh' and thus, the revelation 
to finite perception of the Divine Humanity of 
the Absolute One, in accordance with Christ 'a 
saying, 'No one knoweth the Father but the Son 
and he to whom the Son will reveal Him. , 

Suffice it to say that the effect of our study 
was as if a veil had been removed from my 
vision. I came practically to realize myself not 
only as living, moving and having being in and 
of God, but experientally to recognize Him a& 
the Christ personalized within me. Thence a 
fountain of love — love as a sentiment toward God 
and man, was opened up to my interior con- 
sciousness and I spiritually apprehended the im- 
port of the Lord's language to the woman of Sa- 
maria: 'The water that I shall give him shall be 
a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' 

Recognizing my eternal inherency in the Word,, 
the Christ in God, there was verified in my ex- 
perience the language of Christ representing the 
Son of Man as descending from, ascending to, 
and being in, Heaven. I felt as a wanderer re- 
turning home — to that place which the Lord said 
he was going to prepare for his disciples, that 
they might be where he was. It was as if my 
life were the pulsations of the very heart of the 
infinite life to which every fibre of my being re- 
sponded 'Abba Father.' " 

I for the first time practically apprehended the 
causal relation between that mental state of be- 



Two In One 243 

lieving assurance termed by Christ faith, and its 
effects in the accomplishment of our desires ex- 
pressed in prayer. I perceived that by con- 
scious unity with God our lives become the open 
channel for the outflow and manifestation, in us 
and through us, of the Divine Life; and hence 
that the attaining and abiding in Christ, and 
thereby his Word abiding in us, is the key to that 
overcoming which the risen Son of Man pro- 
claims in the Apocalypse, to the churches. 

The eternal verity of the results to which I 
had come in my life of thought flashed upon me 
with overwhelming vividness, in the light of 
which I recognized as never before my essential 
and eternal oneness with my love self — Mary. 
And with this perception came the words "They 
twain shall be one flesh — What God hath joined 
together let not man put asunder. " 

At that moment looking up, there, to my 
astonishment, stood Professor N., appearing as 
I had last seen him, except that his person was 
bathed in a radiance of light! 

I sprang up to meet him, but here another sur- 
prise awaited me. I was physically whole, every 
nerve in my body tingling with health. ' ' My dear, 
dear friend,' ' I cried, "what blessed' ' — but my 
voice was hushed by a sudden peal of music that 
thrilled me and I stood rapt in unutterable 
ecstacy till it died away. 

Professor N. remarked, "This music is the 



244 Two In One 

celebration of your nuptials by your angel 
friends. The song as you notice was "Let us 
be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, for 
the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife 
hath made herself ready." 

Tonight, he continued, you have really entered 
into the heavenly marriage. Heretofore you 
have been espoused. These angel friends have 
come, as I have, to give you their greetings, and 
congratulations. Here is another also whom 
you have not seen; let me introduce her. Sud- 
denly there appeared at his side his counterpartal 
self — the woman of him. She smilingly bowed 
and said, "All hail! ye blessed of the Lord"; and 
it was as if her husband had spoken through her, 
only the tones of voice were modified by a sweet 
feminine tenderness. In appearance, I can only 
describe her as (that which she was) the embodied 
love answering to her husband as embodied truth. 
They being seated, we continued our colloquy. 

Great and wonderful as the change that had 
passed over me, all seemed so natural that some 
time elapsed before the thought of it occurred, 
when I exclaimed, "How is this, that I am see- 
ing and talking with you?" 

"It means that your spiritual vision is opened," 
said the Professor. 

"I do not quite understand. Am I seeing you 
with the natural eye?" 

"Partly, yes, and partly no. You are seeing 



Two In One 245 

through the natural eye. The spiritual has so 
vivified the natural as to render it susceptible to 
spirit impressions. "We are not spirits (or a 
spirit), in the ordinary sense of that term. We 
have resumed the body, but it is the spiritual 
body of which Paul speaks, — " There is a natural 
body and there is a spiritual body." Ours is the 
state of those of whom Christ says, "They that 
are of the resurrection neither marry nor are 
given in marriage, but are as the angels." 

"Please continue," said Mrs. Morven, as the 
Professor paused. "I should like to hear you 
further on this interesting subject." 

"You are aware," he resumed, "that the per- 
fected man in Christ becomes as did his Master, 
Divinized as to his body as well as his soul, so 
that he may say, as Christ said to Thomas, "Feel 
me and see; a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as 
ye see me have. ' This may be termed the Divine 
natural state." 

"Then a spirit," interposed Mrs. Morven, "is, 
if I understand you, one who has laid aside the 
natural body and has not entered into this res- 
surrection or Divine natural condition. Has the 
spirit, then, no body?"/ 

"Assuredly, a physical or soul-body, so to 
speak. All the faculties of sense, and of thought 
and feeling of the natural body, are primarily in 
and of the internal man. The death of the body 
is merely a cessation, for the time, of its activities 



246 Two In One 

— a loss of consciousness on that plane. The 
man's consciousness continues in the soul degree 
only. In this state he is a spirit. This was the 
state of all of our race previous to Christ. Christ 
was the first fruits of the Divine natural man- 
hood. His resurrection was the bringing of the 
Divine life down into very flesh and bones of his 
natural body, and thus spiritualizing it or ren- 
dering it Divine. His resurrection is the guar- 
antee of the resurrection of every member of our 
race, 'but every man in his own order,' as writes 
the Apostle. 

Man's states as to his body, even as to his soul, 
is determined by his faith. The law holds in this 
as well as in soul states, "According to your 
faith be it unto you. ' ' In the natural state, men 
have natural bodies because of their faith or be- 
lief in such bodily states. But immersed in 
sense as the world is, there is no conception of, 
nor faith in, any body other than that of the 
material ; and hence upon entering into the spirit 
realm the soul has no power to project a body 
beyond the soul plane of thought. But they 
whose faith has become perfected and who, 
therefore, realize all externals as merely the out- 
ward expression of the internal man, reassume 
a body, not of flesh and blood, but a spiritual 
body perfectly adapted to its enlarged capacities. 
The body moves from place to place with the 
celerity of thought, appears or disappears at will, 



Two In One 247 

And has the power of acting on the natural as 
well as the spiritual plane.' ' 

* ' Why do evil spirits seek to obsess those in the 
flesh?" 

"It is the longing desire of all spirits, and 
especially of those in sensualized states, to resume 
ultimated bodily conditions. The delights of 
those in evil being wholly sensual, the being cut 
off from the body, where all sense terminates in 
power and intensity, is to be deprived of their chief 
source of gratification. It is for this reason that 
spirits seek to obsess the bodies of men in the 
flesh. The legion inhabiting the man of Gedara 
sought, rather than be dispossessed of incarnate 
conditions, to enter into and inhabit swine. It is 
this desire of low and sensual spirits to hold com- 
merce with carnal states of life that causes them 
to flock like vultures to every mediumistic open- 
ing from the spiritual into the natural. It is this 
species of influx, also, that renders spiritualistic 
communings so dangerous. Such spirits always 
seek to enslave their subject and use him for their 
own gratification ; and wonderful as it may seem, 
the sexual faculties are the prime seat of their 
diabolical infestation. Hence the sexual dis- 
orders which so commonly flow from spiritism. 

"What advantage do you find in your present 
over your former state as a spirit V 

"The bringing of the Divine life down and out 
into the extreme bodily degree, increases our 



248 Two In One 

powers and delights both as to extent and in- 
tensity, almost infinitely. It gives us, also, 
power to enter into natural conditions, and, as 
we are doing now, commune with those spirit- 
ually in rapport with us. Moreover, as angels 
we are enabled to minister good to those in the 
natural world in a way and to an extent not pos- 
sible by spirits." 

"Is the new heaven composed only of those 
whom you term angels?" 

"Yes, of those alone. And angels is the 
proper term. Spirits as such are not angels. 
They become angels by entering into this more 
advanced state. All previous to Christ, who had 
lived good lives, as well as all since his coming, 
who have had the faith to receive him as the 
Saviour of the soul, but not of the body, have 
been gathered into a realm in the spirit world, 
which we may term the old heaven. This is a 
realm of peace, and is heaven as far as possible 
to the mere soul state. It was the Paradise, 
where Christ told the thief he would meet him, 
and the place where Lazarus rested in Abraham's 
bosom. Gehenna, whither the rich man went, 
was the dwelling place in the spirit world of 
those in evil. But since Christ, the Gospel of 
complete salvation — of the Divinization of both 
soul and body — has been preached in the old 
heaven, and those who have the faith have been 
entering into fullness of life in Christ, thus con- 



Two In One 249 

stituting the New Heavens of which John speaks 
in Revelation — the New Jerusalem. Thus the 
resurrection has been going on since the ascent 
of Christ, and is still in progress. There has 
been, within the last hundred years, a fresh in- 
flux from the New Heavens into the spiritual 
realms immediately in connection with the earth, 
driving away the darkness and clearing the way 
for a fuller descent of the light of heaven upon 
earth, such as never before. It is, as expressed 
in Revelation, the descent of the Holy City, the 
New Jerusalem. It is bringing with it a clear- 
ness of faith and a power against evil to all re- 
ceptive souls such as enables many to enter im- 
mediately into angelhood." 

"Can one become an angel or an inhabitant of 
the New Jerusalem who has not yet found his 
counterpartal self ?" 

"Certainly not. All angels are two-in-one. 
Only counterpartal souls are of what the Lord 
calls the resurrection. Hence if one is removed 
to the spirit world before the other self, as was 
the case with my wife here, he or she remains in 
the spirit realm and awaits the other's coming.' ' 

"You spoke, once before, of broad avenues lead- 
ing out from the city of Centropolis; do those 
avenues lead to Gehenna ? ' ' 

"Yes; Gehenna, you should remember, is the 
general term for the abode of the evil, as distin- 



250 Two In One 

guished from Paradise, the abode of the good in 
Hades, or the spirit realm. Congenial spirits 
gravitate toward each other and form communi- 
ties. The metropolis of any region in Hades is, 
as I have said, the center, whence each finds the 
road leading him to the abode of those who are 
in the same life's love as himself. Each one is 
drawn as the magnet attracts the needle, out in 
the direction and along the way leading him to 
his own — the good to Paradise, the evil to Ge- 
henna. The ways leading to the latter trend 
downward, those leading to the former, upward. 

The abode of each one there being among com- 
panions perfectly congenial, and all his environ- 
ment being perfectly harmonious with his supreme 
love, he is happy after the manner of his kind and 
to the extent of his capacity. Lust, greed, avar- 
ice, and every other phase of embodied evil finds 
its abode exactly adapted to the fullest gratifica- 
tion of its perverted nature, with only two checks 
upon indulgence. One of these is the external re- 
straints of associates, all of whom are alike su- 
premely bent on self -gratification. In any soci- 
etary condition, there must be laws by which all 
are bound, and in the abodes of evil the fear of 
punishment is the only restraint. This punish- 
ment may and does proceed from two sources, 
viz. : from companions, for the violation of their 



Two In One 251 

infernal rules of order; and from the penalty in- 
herent in all disorderly states. This is the sec- 
ond check upon indulgence. The same law holds 
there as in this world. Evil is self inflictive. The 
drunkard or the debauchee in this world suffers 
both mentally and physically from riotous living. 
So it is in Hell. They madly and unrestrainedly 
plunge into excess, the reaction comes, the vile 
lusts become as a burning flame of torture for the 
time. The rich man's calling upon Abraham to 
send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool 
his parched tongue, is an illustration in point. 

I need not say that this state is not endless. Evil 
is self -destructive. The false and evil character 
is consumed in the fires of its own lusts. Eventu- 
ally the organism ceases to respond to any stimuli, 
gradually grows weaker, until at last it dies of in- 
anition. The Prodigal Son affords an illustration 
here. He wasted his substance in riotous living, 
came to be in want, and would fain have filled 
himself with the swinish husks of sensuality, 
but no man gave unto him. Having become in- 
capacitated beyond the quickening power of any 
sensual stimulus, he sat down in utter desolation 
and despair, and at this crisis, through the open 
rents of his disintegrating character-tenement, a 
ray of Divine light penetrated his consciousness 
and he, remembering his Father, resolved to re- 



252 Two In One 

turn. This is a gospel that reaches the lowest 
deeps of Hell. 

Now, pardon me, I feel that our present visit 
should terminate. We shall see you often now. 
You are one of us. You have your place in the 
descending city of the New Jerusalem; you are 
known by name. Your brethren are rejoicing 
with you, and you will be visited by them as well 
as by us. While we man not in any way dictate 
to you, or interfere with your utmost freedom, 
there are ways in which we can and shall help 
you. You and we, in fact, are all one in the com- 
mon work of seeking the establishment of the 
Kingdom of God. We shall not leave you now 
so unceremoniously as before. " 

The angelic pair, lifting their hands in blessing, 
and saying " Peace be unto you," gradually disap- 
peared from our view, whilst the most exquisite 
strains of far-off music, as of the tones of myriad 
voices, were wafted to our ears. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Ten years have elapsed since the close of the 
last chapter. Mr. Calvin became too broad for 
his church and was called to an unsectarian con- 
gregation in an eastern city. Mr. Priestly is yet 
a Swedenborgian but has thrown off the shackles 
of authority. Mr. Clark pursues his esoteric 
studies as before. Berta is his housekeeper, and 
is, as ever, in close sympathy with her father. 
Three children, a boy and two girls, call me 
grandfather. Their parents having applied their 
knowledge of hereditary law, the children seem 
to be an improvement on the original stock. 

My wife and I are living in our quiet mountain 
retreat, removed from the noise and bustle of the 
world, doing an invisible work. Of our personal 
history during the past decade, little need be said. 
Converse with our heavenly friends has been 
almost constant and unremitting. There has 
been a steady advance to completer unity from 
within outwardly, finally reaching to and pervad- 
ing the extremest degree of our bodily structures. 
It is as though faculty were enfolded within fac- 
ulty, organ within organ, tissue within tissue, 
even to the minutest cells. In thought, feeling 
and act we are one. I shall not attempt to de- 



254 Two In One 

scribe the experience further than to say that God 
tabernacles with us, pervading our being to ex- 
tremest sense with ineffable delights. Tempta- 
tions come, but have no power over us. We are 
infinitely content — infinitely satisfied. 

Gradually our bodies have taken on a more 
spiritual aspect, the fiesh becoming as it were 
translucent. All disease and the weakness of 
age have dropped away from us ; and we have re- 
sumed the virile manhood and womanhood, and 
even the apearance, of middle life. How far this 
transformation is to extend, we do not concern 
ourselves to inquire. It suflices us to know that 
our Heavenly Father's will is being done in us 
and by us. Whensoever and howsoever may be 
our passing from earth life matters little. It 
may be that in these records, left for the reading 
of those who have ears to hear, lies our chief work 
in the body. 

But at least our experience has established the 
fact that in the spiritual union of husband and 
wife in God is to be found the long-sought elixir 
vitae, the philosopher's stone, the fountain of 
youth. It has been vainly sought for in exter- 
nals — in such things as food and drink, medical 
decoctions, animal secretions, and mineral springs. 
All life comes from within, from the realm of 
spirit. In God is life, and only in conjugal 



Two In One 255 

states can the way be so opened as to give im- 
mortality to the body. 

In one respect our course has been directed 
differently from what we had hoped and expected. 
Formerly the healing of bodily disease formed 
probably the most prominent feature of our an- 
ticipated work for the good of humanity. But 
while it is true that the power of healing has 
been developed to a marvelous degree within us, 
we have been restrained from its exercise except 
upon those who are spiritually receptive of the 
truth. 

Bodily disease being the ultimation of spiritual 
conditions, to remove the bodily effect whilst the 
mental cause remains, would be to give power and 
license for further and perhaps deeper transgres- 
sion. To illustrate: Take the man diseased in 
body by reason of excesses, but still reeking with 
lust, gnashing his teeth as it were in impotency. 
His weakness is a reminder of his evils, and tends 
to work his reformation. But supose his bodily 
strength is restored, would it not serve merely 
as a means of a deeper plunge into the pit of de- 
struction? It was on this principle that Christ 
said to the man he had healed, "Go and sin no 
more, lest a worse thing come upon thee. ' ' Christ 
healed only those who had faith to be spiritually 
benefitted; who were in a state to receive spirit- 
ual good along with bodily healing (th« latter in 



256 Two In One 

fact as a result of the former) ; and we feel 
assured that now, as then, the spiritual state of 
the subject should be made a prime condition for 
the exercise of this power. If the spiritual state 
of the patient is such that he is not desirous of 
deliverance from the moral evil which is the pro- 
ducing cause of his malady, then the healing 
power of thought can reach no farther than the 
body, and is of the nature of hypnosis, or the 
subjection of one natural mind to another. 
Through this means, relief may be afforded — 
sometimes in a most striking manner — but the 
effect is only transitory. The bodily state, like 
a bent bow released from its tension, springs 
back into harmony with the mental. 

All effects induced on the body merely, 
whether through the agency of hypnotism or that 
of poisons (termed medicines) are of necessity 
only temporary. Bodily disease can be perma- 
nently cured only by a mental change. All true 
healing must be through the Christ method of in- 
ducing in the patient a state of mental health, 
and bringing the body into a state of harmony 
therewith. Healing in any other way is a very 
questionable good. Hence we have felt that we 
dare not descend to indiscriminate healing. We 
believe it to be only hypnotic in its nature, and 
therefore a curse rather than a blessing. 

However, to those who have the faith — who are 



Two In One 257 

prepared to receive spiritual good — our power 
to heal the body seems to be unlimited in extent 
and unhindered by spatial distance. Nay, as 
state in spirit makes conjunction, even spirits are 
attracted to us for help. We thus stand as a 
focal center for the radiating of life and healing 
to all in this or in the spirit realm to whom we 
are congenial in life quality and to whose 
needs we are thus adapted. 

Though living in obscurity, we receive letters 
daily from persons who have in the Lord's prov- 
idence learned of us, and to whom it is our 
blessed privilege of imparting the spiritual and 
physical health they seek. 

The following, for example, is one of the many 
appeals from the spirit world : One evening while 
sitting at our fireside we were startled by a sud- 
den convulsive weeping in the room. I inquired 
who was there, and what was wanted. The dim 
outline of a figure apeared of a man seemingly 
about thirty years of age. He said he had been 
sent to us for help by a man in white. The 
purport of his story was that he had grown up 
in the slums of a city, and had been taught only 
evil ; that in a drunken spree he had killed a man, 
and suffered as a consequence the death penalty; 
that he had found himself in the spirit world 
among boon companions; and that they and he 
lived together in a place like a cave, where they 



258 Two In One 

had every means of indulgence of their appetites r 
the chief man of the place being a large black 
man, who had welcomed him on his arrival, and 
given him every facility for gratification. He 
was well pleased for a time, but eventually by 
over-indulgence he became weak and sick. He 
began to think of the murder he had committed 
and of all his evil life, and became sad and sor- 
rowful. The place and his companions became 
hateful to him. The black man scowled at him 
and cursed and abused him, setting him at hard- 
labor. 

Finally he could endure it no longer and es- 
caped. After wandering about for a long time, 
feeling more and more dreadfully about the life 
he had led, at last he fell down on the cold rocks 
of the desolute country where he was and cried 
out for mercy and help. 

Then a beautiful man in white came to him r 
whose face was so kind and tender that it almost 
broke his heart, and he lay and sobbed, not being 
able to lift his head. But the man touched him 
and told him to rise and he would send him where 
he would be told what to do. "So, ,; he con- 
tinued, "he brought me to you. I don't know 
where I am nor who you are, but if you can help 
me I pray you to do so.'* 

Having first ministered to him courage and bod- 
ily strength, we gave him such instruction as. 



Two In One 259 

seemed to suit his case, among other things ad- 
vising him to find the man he had killed and seek 
his pardon, making such reparation as he might 
be able. 

In a few evenings he again appeared, his coun- 
tenance glowing with delight, and said he had 
again met the man in white, who had got forgive- 
ness of his victim of his victim and made repara- 
tion for him; and now he wanted to know what 
else he should do. 

In brief, we were the means of his gradually 
coming to a knowledge of the truth in Christ — 
to a blessed recognition of the Beautiful man in 
white as the Saviour, and so of the prodigal's 
return to his Father. 

From Professor N. we have learned much of 
the life of the inhabitants both of the heavens and 
of the intermediate realm. Usefulness is the uni- 
versal law there. The inhabitants of the heavens 
so love one another that the welfare of each and 
all is the happiness of each and all. This love 
being their very life, they evermore spontaneously 
seek, in all they think and do, the good of others. 
The thought of self-seeking as something sepa- 
rate from the common good is impossible. Their 
mutual relations are multiplied beyond the con- 
ception of natural thought and their employments 
in rendering mutual service are as manifold as 
their relations. 



260 Two In One 

In addition to this, they are engaged in loving 
ministrations to those on earth, and to those in the 
nether world ; and such as are prepared for it are 
sent on missions to the heavens of other planets, 
thus, in the language of the Apostle, revealing 
"to principalities and powers the manifold wis- 
dom of God in Jesus Christ, according to his eter- 
nal purpose through the ages." 

The inhabitants of the evil realm, whose life's 
love is only that of self, of course can have no 
other end in view than that of self service. But 
the law of use prevails here even as in the heav- 
ens. All are compelled to work for the common 
good. On the principle that he that will not work, 
neither shall he eat, they are starved into compli- 
ance with the law; or, if incorrigible, they are 
confined in prison work-houses, and are punished 
by various tortures until they are willing to obey. 

As long as they render outward obedience to 
the law of useful labor, and refrain from overt 
acts of injury to others, they enjoy, within the 
limits of temperate indulgence, such pleasure as 
lustful gratification affords. But in their insanity, 
like the drunkard and the debauchee on earth, 
they are impelled to plunge themselves headlong 
into dissipations. This weakens the evil organ- 
ism, and opens the way for an influx into their 
consciousness of the truth, which causes their 
lusts to appear as consuming flames. Such was 






Two In One 261 

the temporary state of the rich man in the para- 
ble. Reverting to his ordinary condition, he of 
course regarded this experience as mental delu- 
sion — as the reptiles seen in delirium tremens. 
These naming lusts projected into external ap- 
pearances are the Biblical fires of Gehenna. Their 
life in the nether world is gradually dissipated by 
their lustful excesses, until they become weak and 
helpless as infants, when the light of truth shines 
in and reveals to their horror-stricken gaze their 
state of evil. 

At this point they are brought by the ministra- 
tion of angels into the life sphere of some loving 
heart or society on earth, whence they imbibe new 
strength. Such, in most if not all cases, is the 
first step toward final deliverance. Henceforth 
they are prepared to receive the direct teachings 
of angels. Thus the prodigal returns,. is clothed, 
and enters the Father's house. 

Doubtless we have in this experience the sole 
foundation for the Buddhistic doctrine of reincar- 
nation. ' ' 

Our frequent talks with Professor N. have taken 
a wide range. Mrs. Morven's short-hand notes of 
these talks would fill volumes. 

In a recent interview, I said : ' ' Professor, does 
the present physical disturbances and general up- 
turning in social, political and religious conditions 
betoken the near approximation of those last 



262 Two In One 

times indicated by Christ in the 24th and 25th 
chapters of Matthew?" 

"You can judge of that as well as I," he an- 
swered. "You remember Christ's response to the 
questioning of the desciples, 'When shall these 
things be ? ' He said, * Of that day and hour know- 
eth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my 
Father only. ' As to the manner of its coming and 
the nature of the depravities abounding I may 
say this: That there will be an opening of the 
objective mind and thence an influx from the 
nether world as well as from the descending heav- 
ens and a resulting conflict between the evil and 
the good as has never been known before. The 
history of humanity has been an evolution through 
a series of periods termed in the Greek, Aeons, 
and the closing of each Aeon or age and the ush- 
ering in of a new epoch has been marked by such 
a spiritual influx. There have been three such 
crises, viz: the Flood of Noah, the destruction of 
Sodom and Gomorrah and the period of Christ's 
advent. That each of these periods was attended 
by a spiritual irruption is crearly manifest from 
the Biblical account. From this source, came the 
prevalent conditions of demonization of Christ's 
time. 

"Again, you may expect the resulting depravities 
of the age to come, of which Christ speaks, to be 
similar to those of the past. What, then, was the 



Two In One 263 

prime feature of those depravities? In one word, 
Sexual. And this is as we would expect. As the 
sexual nature is the fountain of all goodness and 
blessedness, in its unperverted activity, so, in 
perverted conditions it becomes the prime source 
of all evil. Man's first departure from God was 
of that nature as clearly indicated in the Edenic 
narrative. A hint of man's depravity and intimat- 
ing his subjective mental status, in Noah's day, 
and hence his openness to conscious influx from 
the spirit realm, is dropped in what is said of the 
Sons of God going in to the daughters of men, etc. 
The awful picture of sexual degradation in Sodom 
is set before us in what transpired on the visit of 
the messengers to Lot. Then we have only to 
read chronicles of the time to learn the conditions 
at the period of the advent. Thus it has been that 
those faculties which in their purity are the high- 
est and noblest in our nature have, in their per- 
version, become the instruments of our deepest 
depravity. It would seem that the devil not only 
used the sexual nature as the channel of the 
original temptation, but that he has established 
his prime seat in this central citadel, thence hold- 
ing under his dominion the entire man. And the 
rationale of this fact is not far to seek. The prime 
characteristic of our human race, differentiating it 
from all other humanities of the universe, is the 
supremacy of the conjugal nature.' ' 



264 Two In One 



< < 



Pardon me, Professor/' I interposed, "let me 
read to you an extract from a description of the 
depravity of the age at Christ's coming, which I 
came across the other day, in this little volume. 
1 It would almost seem, ' says the writer, ' as though 
in the destruction of Herculaneum and Pom- 
peii, which occurred a few years after Paul en- 
tered the imperial city, a part of the Almighty's 
purposes was to bury out of sight the evidences 
of heathen impurity as it existed in the age in 
which Christ appeared, and preserve them so 
surely that there might be no question as to their 
identity when they should be offered in testimony 
before the bar of enlightened Judgment to an age 
succeeding after eighteen centuries have rolled 
away. The Musee Borbonico at Naples contains 
a collection of articles which the excavations in 
these ancient cities have yielded, showing the very 
remarkable degree of cultivation which existed at 
the time; but there is one room in that museum 
which women are not allowed to enter. This is 
all the more suggestive when we remember that, 
in the modern city in which the museum stands, 
there is very much to give offense to the pure eyes 
of women. But this room reeks with an impurity 
which Christian civilization has ever known, even 
in its most corrupt day, and under the most un- 
favorable influences, and contains the most hid- 
eous proofs of the abject infamy of that heathen- 



Two In One 265 

ism which was rotten to the core. The world had 
reached a moral condition very similar to that 
which had appeared in the age immediately pre- 
ceding the Flood, when Noah appeared as a 
preacher of righteousness, and at the time of the 
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 

" What would be expected of a people who built 
a temple consecrated to the worship of a female 
divinity, in which a host of abandoned females 
were kept as a part of the religious establishment ? 
What can be thought of a people who dared not 
utter aloud the prayers which they whispered in 
the ears of such Gods and Goddesses as these? 
Licentiousness was part of their worship. Inde- 
cent songs and symbols attended their religious 
festivals. ' ' 

"I am glad you read this. It is horrible, but 
it simply emphasizes and confirms my statements 
that while the sex nature in its purity is the in- 
spirational fount of all that is blessed and noble 
in humanity, when perverted and corrupted it 
becomes a cesspool of rottenness and death. ' ' 

Now , as to the social, industrial, political and 
religious signs of the times, the outlook is omin- 
ous of an impending historical crisis. Natural sci- r 
the utilization of her forces has by abridging 
ence, through its discovery of nature's laws and& 
time and space, reduced the entire world to a U 
neighboring vicinage and compacted society into 



266 Two In One 

an organism in which the various trades and occu- 
pations, with their interlaced vital and mutual 
relations, constitute the organs for the perform- 
ance of its common life functions. 

The welfare of each and all is dependent upon 
the recognition by each and every class of workers 
of their relation and obligations to the entire cor- 
porate body and the performance of their func- 
tions with reference to the common good. In so 
far, therefore, as self-seeking is suffered to con- 
trol the activities of these various classes, there 
will necessarily arise dissensions, strife and dis- 
order to the general detriment. Hence the pres- 
ent prevalent dishonesties and industrial antag- 
onisms. It would seem as though selfishness is 
increasing apace with social unification; and, of 
course, the closer the unity the more fierce and re- 
lentless the strife. 

The practical application of the Golden Rule, 
"Do unto others as you would have them do to 
you," is the only possible basis upon which a so- 
cial superstructure of peace, harmony and jus- 
tice can rest. In other words, those conditions 
can exist only among a people in whom, and in 
the ratio that, the principles of justice, righteous- 
ness and love prevail. The disorders of hell 
cannot be relieved by introducing the social and 
governmental regulations of the heavens. Fur- 
thermore, the principles of just and harmonious 



Two In One 267 

social and political conditions must be rooted in 
the recognition of God and of man's relations to 
Him. The brotherhood of man must flow out 
from the well-spring of the Fatherhood of God. 

This brings us to the consideration of the source 
of our present troubles. It is, in a word, a preva- 
lent agnosticism — that condition in the popular 
mind portrayed by the Psalmist, "The fool hath 
said in his heart, no god. ' ' Modern civilization, in 
its motives and methods of thought, is cutting 
loose from all consideration of God and of faith 
in spiritual realities and is consequently being 
given over to an utter insanity in the pursuit of 
mere material acquisitions. 

God is the life of man, and there is a continuous 
Divine impulse within him to seek and rest in that 
Life. In naught else can satisfaction or rest be 
found. All else is but vanity and vexation of 
spirit. "I shall be satisfied, when I awake in thy 
likeness," says an inspired writer of old. Yes, 
when we awake in God's likeness we shall have 
rest — not otherwise. 

But men in their blindness, vainly seek satis- 
faction in the indulgence of the bodily senses and 
appetites, thus substituting swinish husks for the 
bread of their Father's house. The result is a 
general state of unrest, a rushing to and fro, a 
hurrying hither and thither seeking to fill the void 
within by the accumulation of money in order to 



268 Two In One 

the gratification of petty vanities, gross sensu- 
alities and the lust of power. The Apostle James 
warns us that the love of money is the root of all 
evil. It is certainly eating the very heart out of 
modern civilization; money, money, money — busi- 
ness, business, business for money's sake, absorbs 
the entire time, thought and energies of the ordi- 
nary man, largely to the exclusion of every inter- 
est in anything in life for which money can not be 
exchanged. ' ' 

"Yes," I interposed, "I have, of late had occa- 
sion to learn something of the prevalent popular 
skepticism relative to anything beyond the realm 
of the physical senses. And I have observed 
further an alarming lack of faith in mankind. 
Since faith in the fellow man can spring only out 
of faith in God, the eternal Principle of Life, 
Truth and Love, in whom man essentially inheres, 
and of whom he is the expression, this agnosticism 
is generating distrust, suspicion and heartlessness 
in all business operations. The word ' ' accommo- 
tion" in the sense of lending a helping hand 
purely in the spirit of helpfulness is becoming 
comparatively an obsolete term in the vocabulary 
of business. The maxim, "Business only on busi- 
ness principles" is interpreted to mean, "Stifle 
every feeling of sympathy or kindness." 

And the same cold, mercenary spirit naturally 
animates the nations in their intercourse. Hu- 



Two In One 269 

manitarian motives bear little sway with the world 
rulers as against the greed of gain. And so the 
preparations for predatory warfare in the way of 
vieing with each other in the building of huge 
armaments continue with accelerated zeal. As 
selfishness tends to domestic strife and dissen- 
sion in proportion to the closeness of social or- 
ganization, and thus of the increased mutuality 
and interdependence of classes in society, so the 
same principle holds true among nations. From 
this source there are manifest threatening possi- 
bilities if not probabilities of an approaching 
world-wide war. 

Moreover, in these mental perturbations and 
disorders of the race we have the primal cause 
of our present numerous earthquakes and other 
physical disasters. The phenomenal universe is 
no other than the mental universe of thought 
force projected into visibility and manifestation. 
Hence the coupling together of "wars and rumors 
of wars" and "earthquakes in divers places/' by 
our Lord in his predictions as to conditions in the 
end of the ages." 



a 



All these signs of the times," remarked the 
Professor, "seem to indicate the approach of that 
state of things implied in the question of our 
Lord: 'When the son of man cometh shall he 
find faith on the earth?' However, we should re- 



270 Two In One 

mind ourselves of His admonition, 'Of that day 
and hour, knoweth no man.' 

But of one thing with reference thereto, we 
have the blessed assurance, and that is that his 
coming is to mark the baginning of the end of 
our ages-long historical drama of sin and sorrow. 

It is to result in the utter destruction of evil, 
the casting of death and hades into the lake of 
fire, the purging away of all sin and God's be- 
coming the all in all." 

In answer to a question Professor N. further 
remarked: ''Age-abiding is the better rendering 
of the word translated "eternal" in the New 
Testament writings. The word is aionios, the 
adjective from the word aion, which means age. 
The word aion is defined as follows in the Greek 
lexicon: "A period of time significant of char- 
acter : life : an era : an age : hence a state of things 
making an era or an age. It is, as we have seen, 
applied to the several states of human develop- 
ment. It follows that aionios, the adjective, 
means pertaining to an era or an age. Aionian 
life would be a life pertaining to an age, or the 
ages. In the very nature of the case it is inde- 
terminate as to duration. Its significance in that 
regard depends on its application. The aionian 
life of those who have become one in conscious- 
ness with God, who are partakers of the Divine 
life, is in course , unending. But the aionian pun- 



Two In One 271 

ishment of the wicked is in the very nature of 
the case, not unending, but only co-enduring 
through the age or ages of the continuance of 
that state producing pain. The conscious life of 
the soul which does not become receptive of the 
Divine life, must perish. The aonian death con- 
sists of the process of decay and final complete de- 
struction of this evil conscious existence. 
The Scriptures nowhere hint of endlessness of 
conscious existence in pain. The end of the un- 
regenerate is always spoken of as destruction — 
not of the individual, as we have learned from 
modern psychology, but of the character which 
constitutes his evil life. 

The errors into which Bible interpreters have 
fallen on this subject have arisen from a lack of 
a true psychology. They Lave assumed that the 
soul is constituted into a substance distinct from 
God, is corruptible in its essential nature, and is 
endowed with inherent immortality or endlessness 
of conscious existence in that state. This, taken 
in connection with the idea that the word aion as 
applied to the lost means endless duration, has 
given rise to the horrid notion prevalent that a 
very large majority of humanity are destined to 
roast in the fires of unmitigable torture endlessly 
— all for God's glory.' ' 

'You have mentioned conjugality as being the 
prime characteristic of our earth humanity dif- 



272 Two In One 

ferentiating it from other humanities of the uni- 
verse," said Mrs. Morven. "This suggests sev- 
eral interesting questions, for instance; as to the 
fact of other worlds of space being inhabited; 
how the inhabitants differ from our race in char- 
acter and conditions of life ; how they are related 
to us, etc. Our scientists, as you know, are 
doubtful even about any of the planets of our 
solar system being inhabited." 

"Yes, this comes from their looking no deeper 
than appearances. You, Mr. Morven, have 
already shown that all phenomena are the mani- 
festations of spirit, and that the existence of 
worlds means the existence of peoples of which 
they are the visualized expression. 

Our solar system is constituted of a family of 
humanities bearing a relation to one another 
similar to the principles which make up the in- 
dividual man, as indicated in the relative func- 
tions of the several parts of the brain. They may 
be said to constitute a solar brain. Mercury being 
located in the perceptive region, Mars in the re- 
flective, Jupiter in the social, etc., the prime char- 
acteristic of each corresponding to its location. 
The location of our humanity is the cerebral re- 
gion of conjugality. 

You have already noted the fact that evil did 
not originate with our race, and intimated a lack 
of knowledge as to its origin. It is my privilege 



Two In One 273 

to say that its prime and only source is to be found 
in the planetoids, the debris of an exploded 
planet, situated between Mars and Jupiter, about 
266 million miles from earth." 

"Are we to understand," inquired Mrs. Mor- 
ten, ' ' that the malific influence which has ever in- 
fested our race has its seat in that far off region, 
sending its baleful power across the intervening 
space?" 

"Yes, and why not? We know that there is 
such a relation between the other planets and our 
world that they do affect our climatology, and 
doubtless, we similarly affect them. The ether 
of space is the scientific bond of connection. But 
physical forces are only the phenomenal expres- 
sion of the mental and, to mind, there is no 
space. ' ' 

"Let me ask, further, what caused the disrup- 
tion of that planet?" 

"In a word, mental disruption. Love of others 
is, of course, the bond holding a race in unity. 
Gravitation which gives an orb its sphericity is 
the phenomenal expression of that love. Now, 
suppose a hnmanity to fall away from God into 
self-love so that the inhabitants should be in a 
state of antagonism, every man's hand being 
against his neighbor, the attraction giving spher- 
ical form to the world would become repulsion 
:and it would fly to pieces." 



274 Two In One 



i i 



Are all our sister planets, Mercury, Venus,. 
Mars and the rest, affected similarly to us by this- 
cataclysm in our midst ?" 

"In a measure, they are. But by reason of a 
peculiar psychic relation of earth to the fallen 
orb (which I havn't time now to explain) the 
chief brunt of its evil influence rests upon us. And 
it is by reason of this intimate relation that our 
race is adapted to become the medium through 
which evil is to be eradicated from the universe 
by the Divine Word incarnated therein." 
Another question: How could evil originate in 
a universe of infinite Love, Wisdom and Power ? ' 

"Pardon my deferring this question to a future 
time, when I shall take pleasure in giving you 
the conclusions of angelic wisdom on that and 
other subjects." 

Naturally, the degree of advance of our hu- 
manity towards its predestined, glorified union 
with the Christ and its ultimate use in the uni- 
verse of worlds, by reason of its experience in evil, 
together with all cognate questions, would be of 
the profoundest interest to the various peoples of 
our sister planets, as well as to ourselves. 

It has recently been my privilege to attend a 
convention of delegates from the several heavens 
of our solar family of planets, assembled in the- 
spiritual realm of our earth, seeking, as the Apos- 
tle writes, to inquire into these things. At 



Two In One 275 

another time, I will give you an account of its 
proceedings. But for the present, I must leave 
you. ' ' 



RemarK: Our M. M. S. here contains a resume 
of the proceedings of the planetary convention as 
promised, which with much more we are com- 
pelled to omit. We will close this work with a 
brief extract from an exposition of the Book of 
Revelations. 

"The wall surrounding the city (the New 
Jerusalem) is the true system of Divine truth. 
None can enter these gates that believe or make a 
lie. This system of truth has its foundations in 
the number 12, the dual idea. The wall had 
twelve foundations. So also the same duality runs 
through and makes up the entire superstructure. 
The union of man and woman is the basis of the 
whole. But this wil suffice as to the significance 
of the symbolism. [This had been fully shown in 
the preceding discussion of the subject.] 

Enough has been said to indicate that we have 
here portrayed a humanity in whom love and 
truth are joined in one in each individual man or 
woman and that this duality is still further ex- 
pressed in a perfect oneness of pairs making one 
dual individual. Through organic unity with 
Christ in God, each one of the pair beholds the 
very face of the Divine in the person of his or her 



276 Two In One 

counterpart, manifesting as it does in outward 
form the interior Divine Self, and thus by reason 
of this unity with and in God there is a perfect 
oneness of all Humanity, each with all and all with 
each constituting one grand unitary body in which 
Christ dwells as the light and life. 

Thus this city of the New Jerusalem, this bride 
of the Lamb, is full of the glory of God. The 
very life and power of the Eternal One unob- 
structedly pulses through it as the heart sends the 
blood into the arteries and veins and every tissue 
of the body. Language can express no more. To 
say that there is no more sorrow, nor pain, nor 
death, is saying what is already implied. Noth- 
ing can be added to the beauty of the picture, and 
to the idea of the blessedness of those who shall 
be able to enter into the gates of the city. 

Now let us consider what this new Jerusalem 
means. The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, 'In 
my Father's house are many mansions. * * *I go 
to prepare a place for you/ This is the key to 
the understanding of the meaning of this city de- 
scending from God out of heaven. 

Previous to Christ's incarnation, the inhabitants 
of our earth, the saved and the unsaved alike, at 
death ceased to have consciousness in the bodily 
degree and entered upon the soul degree of con- 
sciousness, Hades, or the spirit-world, with no 
possibility under the then existing conditions that 



Two In One 277 

there ever could be a resumption of bodily con- 
sciousness. The only difference between the be- 
lieving and the unbelieving was that the former 
were freed from the domination of evil, while the 
latter were subject to it. The one state was Para- 
dise, the other Gehenna. In the parable of the 
rich man and Lazarus, the veil is drawn and we 
get a glimpse of the two states. But Christ 
Jesus came, the Father in him descending into the 
very bodily conditions of the race, and organized 
the Divine into the extreme bounds of bodily con- 
sciousness. He thus became in himself the Alpha 
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the 
First and the Last in our humanity. The object 
of his Divine incarnation was that the entire race 
as a result of the outgoing of Divine Power 
through him might be delivered from their thrall- 
dom, and like unto him have their consciousness 
opened and filled with the Divine, he being the 
head and they the members of one grand unitary 
body. The ulterior purpose designed from the 
beginning, by the very existence of our race, was 
that we might become a medium for the outraying 
of his Divine glories to all the rest of the universe 
for evermore. Just as he was a vicarious sufferer 
for our humanity, our sins being laid upon him 
and by his stripes we being healed, so our race 
through its experiences of evil and falsity vicar- 
iously suffers for the universe. None henceforth 



278 Two In One 

rt-ed to go through these experiences of evil and 
falsity in order to understand by contrast the 
good and the true. We have, for them, descended 
to the depths, and stand as an illustrative example 
to all evermore. We through the Christ in us 
are constituted the teachers of the universe. 

When Christ came, the race had descended to 
the lowest depth. One step lower would have 
been into a de-humanized state. At that point 
the Divine, having incarnated Himself in Jesus 
Christ, began the work of race redemption. The 
panorama of Revelation which appeared to John 
on \e Isle of Patmos was the prophetic delinea- 
te on of this work of the Lord from the date of his 
ascension to the end. The peoples who had be- 
fore believed in and obeyed God, and so had be- 
come regenerate in the soul degree, had in their 
Paradisiacal world in Hades formed what may be 
termed the 'old heavens.' These having died 
without knowledge of, or faith in, the Divine Hu- 
manity as exhibited in Jesus Christ, needed to 
have this gospel of the Divine Natural Humanity 
preached to them, that they might become organ- 
ically united to the Christ, and so be able in the 
fullness of time to resume their bodily state of 
consciousness and be filled with the Divine power 
and glory in that essential degree of their exist- 
enc. This was the gospel which Christ is said to 



Two In One 279 

nave preached to the spirits in prison during the 
three days between his death and resurrection. 

These believers, receiving the truth of the Di- 
vine Natural Humanity, have become organized 
upon that basis, and have put on the resurrection 
conditions, with the Lord as their head. This is 
called in the Scriptures the 'new heavens.' It 
is the New Jerusalem, the bride adorned for her 
husband about which we read in the 21st chapter 
of Revelation. It is humanity perfected. The 
process of the formation of these new heavens has 
been going forward till now the New Jerusalem, 
this perfected heavens, is descending, and the 
final battle between the evil and the good is im- 
pending, with the results already previously de- 
scribed. This New Jerusalem is humanity per- 
fected in one in Christ. 

This holy city is now in close proximity to the 
^arth degree of thought, as indicated by unmis- 
takeable signs. The pulsing of its life can be and 
is consciously felt by every one in the true organic 
unity with Jesus Christ. Every such one in 
Christ has in fact entered through the gates into 
the city. He is a citizen of that city. And he 
should just as truly have conscious fellowship 
with the angelic inhabitants of the city as with 
Him who is its Center of its Life. 

In the last chapter of Revelation we have a fur- 
ther description of the blessedness of the state of 



280 Two In One 

those who dwell within the city : * i And he pointed 
out to me a river of water of life, bright as crys- 
tal, issuing forth out of the throne of God and the 
Lamb. Between her broadway and river, hence 
and thence, a tree of life producing twelve fruits, 
month by month, severally, yielding its fruit ; and 
the leaves of the trees were for the curing of the 
nations. And no curse shall be any more; and 
the throne of God and of the Lamb within her 
shall be; and his servants will render him divine 
service ; and they shall see his face ; and his name 
shall be on their foreheads. 

And night shall not be any more ; and they have 
no need of lamp, and light of sun; because the 
Lord God will shed light upon them; and they 
shall reign to the ages of ages." 

"Here, at the close of our race's ages-long 
career of wandering from the Adamic Paradise, 
we have again the return thereto, with its tree of 
life and the river of the water of life, from which 
the Edenic lapse had debarred us. That tree is 
the Divine Humanity, and its fruit is the bliss of 
conscious union therewith. The river of life is 
the ever-flowing stream of the Divine love flowing 
through and watering all the land of the soul. 

As the Edenic lapse arose from a spiritual dis- 
junction of the dual pair, and a transference of 
their union to the gross carnalities of sense, so, 
now we find the fundamental feature of the res- 



Two In One 281 

toration to inhere in the re-establishment of the 
spiritual dual relation. This is indicated, as be- 
fore remarked, by the number 12, the symbolic 
number of the Divine marriage. The tree of life 
bears 'twelve fruits, month by month, severally 
yielding its fruit.' The reference here is to the 
twelve gates of faculties made up of the united 
pair, through which is received the Divine inflow- 
ing life. Its monthly yield has its symbolic ex- 
pression in the physical constitution of woman. 

Behold a dual pair, as they stand before us, in 
the coming age: all that their imaginations can 
conceive, or their hearts desire, they possess, as 
to food, raiment, dwelling, paintings, statuary, 
music, and whatever of beauty and loveliness their 
senses can apprehend. All these environments 
grow out of their mental states as pictures are 
thrown upon the screen by the stereopticon. God's 
outraying life through them ultimates their men- 
tal states of innocence and beauty, momentarily to 
their enraptured sight. They are Divine artists, 
shaping all external forms at their will. Their 
sense-world they govern as their taste may sug- 
gest. It is said, 'They shall reign to the ages of 
ages. ' This implies that all their environments of 
whatever kind shall be subservient to their every 
wish. They cannot want, for the spiritual law is 
that the want produces its own supply. 

But all this external is only as an echo to their 



82 Two In One 



spiritual beatitudes. They in each other rest in 
a rapture of innocent delight such as to attempt 
to portray by words were but mockery. Multiply 
a million fold the highest bliss know to our pres- 
ent state — that which is most akin to the spiritual 
conjugal state, viz. — the loves of the innocent 
youth and maiden — and it will give but the faint- 
est glimpse of the raptures of those who are puri- 
fied from the 'curse' of all sensuality, and rest in 
one in the bosom of God, beholding His face and 
basking in the sunlight of his presence. 

All share the same life. The bliss of all as a 
common tide flows through and in all, uniting 
them as one, and thus making the happiness of 
each the joy of all. The social atmosphere is 
laden with the aura of the Divine life; every 
thought of another, is an outgoing of love as a 
messenger sent forth to return freighted with 
blessing; the very ground they tread sends 
through every fibre magnetic thrills of blessed 
peace, and love to God and man. Such is the 
state of things to be, and towards which the race 
is fast hastening.' ' 

The End. 



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